Overwatch 2 — 2 hours of gameplay footage doesn’t answer biggest question

Overwatch ii — 2 hours of gameplay footage doesn't answer biggest question

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Overwatch 2 is in the works — and sometimes, it feels like that's all nosotros know about the game. Blizzard has been fairly cagey nearly the multiplayer shooter sequel, revealing a handful of characters and screenshots, and non much else. However, cheers to a recent livestream, you can now scout two-and-a-half hours of Overwatch ii gameplay. And if that sounds similar too big of a time sink, the biggest takeaway is Overwatch 2 divides players into teams of five, rather than teams of half dozen like its predecessor.

The livestream debuted on Blizzard's official YouTube aqueduct, and it's withal in that location, if you want to watch it. Overwatch personalities Matt "Mr. X" Morello and Mitch "Uber" Leslie hosted both Blizzard developers and popular Twitch streamers, who showed off a variety of Overwatch 2 maps, characters and gameplay features.

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It would take as well long to detail every unmarried characteristic that Blizzard covered over the course of the long livestream. However, we know that multiplayer teams will at present consist of five players apiece, as opposed to the first game's six-player teams. We know a variety of playable characters from the first game will be returning, including Mercy, Winston, Reaper, Tracer, Mei, Zarya, Symmetra, Genji and more. Nosotros know that players will still accept to capture waypoints, escort vehicles and have out competitors as many times equally possible.

In other words: If you lot like Overwatch, but feel that it needs a mild overhaul and a handful of new features, Overwatch 2 seems similar what you're waiting for.

Playable characters won't accept the same abilities as last time around, though. In terms of passive abilities, heroes who dish out damage will motion faster; heroes who support other players will regenerate health; heroes who soak upwardly damage won't exist knocked dorsum as far, then along. Other heroes will accept new secondary firing options for their weapons, changes to their active abilities or complete reworkings, depending on how well they're balanced in the first game.

For all we learned about Overwatch 2 in the stream, nonetheless, Blizzard has withal to address ane very important question: When is the game coming out? Overwatch 2 doesn't all the same accept a release engagement, a price or whatever platform availability. (It seems safe to assume that the game will come out on PC. The Xbox Serial X, Xbox Series S and PS5 are also expert bets. Anything beyond that is anyone's guess.)

In the meantime, the original Overwatch is still alive and well, with frequent updates and an active player base of operations. Blizzard's underrated MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, also has a off-white amount of Overwatch heroes in it, so maybe that'due south worth checking out likewise.

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Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing groundwork, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you tin find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on archetype sci-fi.