Overwatch 2 dev responds to backlash after PVE plan changes

Overwatch 2’s executive producer Jared Neuss has taken to Twitter to respond to the backlash from the community after Blizzard’s announcement of a shift in PvE plans.

The Overwatch 2 community has voiced their frustration at Blizzard after the recent announcement that certain parts of the long-awaited PvE experience would not be delivered. Fans of the player vs environment mode were particularly disappointed to hear that Overwatch 2’s PvE would be scaled back, with the removal of talent trees and hero mode as a whole.

While the PvE component has been reduced in certain capacities, it does not necessarily mean that the game mode is gone forever. Many have come forth to state that PvE content would still be delivered to Overwatch 2, instead in the form of story missions that would be delivered as seasonal content down the line.

Executive Producer on Overwatch 2 Jared Neuss has since responded to the community outrage in the form of a tweet, attempting to clarify what exactly is in the plans for the PvE mode.

A clarification that I wanted to make is that, while we made the decision to cut Hero Mode + Talents, we have a lot of great PvE content coming this year.

Big story missions, new cinematics, co-op events and single player Hero Mastery missions are all on the way. https://t.co/8aGvlBqVR0

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023

Neuss pointed out that, whilst Hero Mode and Talents have been cut from Overwatch 2, there’s still PvE content coming this year.

“A clarification that I wanted to make is that, while we made the decision to cut Hero Mode + Talents, we have a lot of great PvE content coming this year.” the producer stated.

“Big story missions, new cinematics, co-op events, and single-player Hero Mastery missions are all on the way.” Neuss continued.

They also spoke about how it’s been a rather challenging day for those in the Overwatch community, both players and devs alike. And while they understand the news may be frustrating, they’re confident that this new direction will allow them to tell the stories of Overwatch in an appropriate manner.

I also want to acknowledge that today has been a challenging day for many of us in the Overwatch community – players and developers alike.

We understand that today's news about the scope of PvE is frustrating. We on the OW leadership team didn’t make the decision lightly.

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023

Jared wrapped up in mentioning that a developer blog would be released on Friday that would give further clarification and context to the changes.