Blizzard has released a new blog update for Overwatch 2, and the developer is clearly not too happy with the state the game is currently in.
This post from Overwatch 2’s new executive producer acknowledges the team isn’t “completely satisfied with how everything feels right now,” with Blizzard now looking at the “[opportunities] for improvement that [it needs] to focus on”.
Many of these future improvements will address issues with queue times, with Blizzard currently looking at ways to change the game’s approach to its Support heroes as a way to remedy the long waits many players have experienced.
Traditionally, Support heroes are not the most popular choice, with the majority of players instead opting to play as Tank or DPS characters. And, because you can queue separately for each of these three roles, the queues for Tank and Damage characters are generally bigger, and therefore the wait to play is longer.
Blizzard states “while there’s no silver bullet for this issue”, the developer has several ideas it hopes to “experiment with” in Overwatch 2’s future seasons. This includes ideas that, it hopes, will make Support roles “more fun” and “more rewarding” for players to play as (however, it has not detailed exactly what these ideas are).
In addition to this, Blizzard is “discussing targeted support hero reworks, game system updates, and even some role-wide changes to improve support quality of life.”
But while there are no specific long-term changes noted in this update with regards to the queue times, in the short-term Blizzard is going to “experiment with [its] Battle Pass XP rewards” for those players who opt to queue for either the Support or All roles. It notes that, “in most cases”, queues for the Support roles are generally less than a minute. It has also made Overwatch 2’s queue time estimates “more accurate” in the game’s UI.
This post also touches on the game’s competitive elements, rewards and progression for future seasons, and the most recent patch that saw hero balance changes and the return of Mei after she was put on ice. Blizzard summarises these hero changes as “Genji and D.Va are a bit less deadly, Zarya is less shield-y and Sombra is less hacky”.
On the Competitive system, Blizzard says it has heard players’ feedback on Overwatch 2’s unexpected rank changes, rate of feedback “and more”, stating “this is a topic that [it] can’t do justice with just a paragraph or two”. Instead, it will share a “deeper dive” into its plans for this “soon”.
Meanwhile, with regard to Overwatch 2’s plans for rewards and progression, Season 2 will see the continuation of Twitch drops, and each event will soon have a skin you can earn by playing.
Blizzard wants future seasons to “feel more rewarding than Season 1”, so from Season 3 onwards the company is looking to add “more interesting challenges… more exciting play-focused progression systems” and “a mix of Battle Pass changes”. As with its Competitive system, Blizzard will talk more about these changes “soon”.
The post closes: “Players who’ve stuck with us, players who’ve returned, and players who are just now jumping in the fun–thank you for playing Overwatch 2. Reading your posts, watching your clips, and playing alongside you always leaves me humbled.
“We have an incredible community, and I hope that by opening up about what we’re thinking more, we can keep growing together.”
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