Blizzard has released an official roadmap for Overwatch 2 detailing its plans for future content in Seasons 5, 6, and 7, including when PvE content will arrive and how plans for it have changed. While the roadmap focuses on a diverse range of content planned for the next several seasons of Overwatch 2, a lot of attention is going to be directed towards PvE. That's because Blizzard has also confirmed its canceled plans for its past PvE expansion of Overwatch 2 and will instead roll out a much smaller seasonal style of PvE content.Overwatch 2 is currently going through its fourth season of live service content, with 27 days left before the arrival of Season 5. Each season of Overwatch 2 has so far featured a new battle pass full of unlockable cosmetics, a competitive ladder reset, limited events, and premium shop offerings. New heroes are also routinely released, along with regular balance updates. As for PvE, Blizzard has maintained it was still being worked on with no indication that plans had changed until now.The new Overwatch 2 roadmap details plans for Season 5 through Season 7, "and beyond." The roadmap covers each season in broad strokes, but more specific information has been shared in a Blizzard live stream. Season 5 will feature the limited-time Questwatch event, a new cinematic, the return of the Summer Games event, and something called Mischief & Magic. Season 6 will see the start of story missions being released, a new Support hero added to the roster, the Flashpoint game mode, and Hero Mastery.
To be clear, the addition of story missions in Season 6 and future PvE content is not the mode that Blizzard has previously promised. In a lengthy interview with GameStop, Blizzard has confirmed its previous plans for PvE have been scrapped. The original plans for Overwatch 2 PvE mode have been canceled, including its planned talent trees, leveling, progression, and Hero Missions. PvP is Overwatch 2's focus going forward, with PvE missions and story content to be added in a supplementary way, the full scope of which remains not entirely clear.
Content for Season 7 and future seasons has also been teased. A new Tank hero will follow Season 7's Support hero, to start. Reworks for both Roadhog and Sombra are also being developed. There are also plans for the return of competitive Mystery Heroes and other game modes, a new cinematic, a new winter event, and more.
The Overwatch 2 development team at Blizzard may be leaving its plans for a substantial PvE experience behind, but it's rededicating itself to its seasonal live service. There's obviously been a massive upheaval within the Overwatch 2 development team over the past years. This likely isn't an optimal situation for all parties involved. But the good news is that for those enjoying Overwatch 2 as it is, there's a lot more to come in 2023 and beyond.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.