While most Overwatch 2 fans are a bit dismayed by the fact that it appears the game isn't arriving this year, its delay could actually be good news. Since the sequel to the popular team shooter was announced, there's been some confusion over just what Activision Blizzard was doing with the game. More than a few fans wondered why those plans made the sequel appear to be just Overwatch DLC. For the most part, what developers had talked about were mostly reworks in Overwatch 2 for some of the more popular characters in the first game. However, if the rumors of delays are correct, the next game could be very different.
Activision Blizzard has so far leaned into the fact that Overwatch 2 is going to be a direct sequel to the first game. The company apparently wants to seize on what players love about the first and go from there. In order to do that, it seems as if developers didn't want to change all that much from Overwatch to Overwatch 2. However, as the timeline stretches further and further out, it seems like there's a couple of big changes the development team could make. In fact, as the original Overwatch is left behind, it's not even a matter of what they can do, but rather what they should do in order to generate some real excitement for the upcoming project.
Overwatch 2's Release Date is the Key
If Overwatch 2 is being pushed back to 2023, there's a real opportunity for Activision Blizzard to get the game right out of the gate. Cyberpunk 2077 should have taught the gaming world a valuable lesson, so once a delay like this arrives, it needs to make sure and actually take advantage of the time to overhaul Overwatch 2. To some degree, waiting until 2023 to release the game is a blessing. People might be a bit frustrated that it's taking this long, but extra development time should make sure the quality is there when Overwatch 2 finally does arrive.
Overwatch 2 Should Be its Own Thing
It's already been a couple of years since Overwatch 2 was first announced. When it was announced, the ties to the first game were rather obvious. There's a reason most people saw this and were confused about whether this is a new game or DLC. Whether Activision Blizzard meant for it to feel like another piece of the original game or not, it looks like more content for the first game, rather than its own sequel.
The good news for the game's delay is that there appears to be plenty of time to do new work on the title. That means instead of simply tweaking Overwatch characters for the next game, there's a chance to make all-new characters and make more of them. Certainly improving how some beloved characters play is going to be important for the next game. The developers have invested a lot of time and effort into building backstories for the characters in the first game. However, there's something to be said for building new backstories and unveiling new characters along the way.
While some of the same characters belong in the upcoming title, Overwatch 2 should be untied from its predecessor to a degree that makes sense. There should be plenty of things that make the game stand out on its own. That could even mean that the characters from the first game are rolled out later in the timeline, perhaps in an effort to make sure that the new characters are the real focus of the sequel. That could in fact, make it even more rewarding for the players when some like D.Va or Tracer returns.
More Story In-Game For Overwatch 2
Blizzard has already made it clear that Overwatch 2 will have more PvE options than its predecessor. One of the features of the first game is that people had to really work in order to figure out the entirety of backstories for the heroes. The time it's going to take to bring the sequel to market can allow Blizzard to really pack in some story into the game, rather than lore outside of Overwatch itself. Maybe even some of those fights that are supposed to be set "in the past" could set the stage for more narrative backstories and character backgrounds.
Overwatch 2 Should Be Current-Gen Only
When Overwatch 2 was first announced, one of the things that raised eyebrows was the expectation that it would be on the Xbox One and PS4, as well as the Xbox Series X/S and the PS5. The delay should change that. One of the ways in which the game can feel truly different from the first Overwatch is to make sure it's only on the current generation of consoles. That will allow it to perform better, look better, and be better as an Overwatch sequel.