Blizzard revealed how Overwatch 2 will transition from its predecessor’s $60 standard pricing to a free-to-play live service model yesterday. The “reveal event” live also gave viewers a glance at the seasonal release schedule as well as the game’s newest hero, Junker Queen.
Overwatch 2’s game director, Aaron Keller, explained that the team decided to make the game free-to-play to ensure that it would be “a live game” with seasonal content drops that players could look forward to “for years to come.”
“In recent years, we haven’t done a good enough job at delivering that for our fans, and we feel their frustration,” Keller said. “We took a hard look at our strategy for Overwatch 2 to make sure that we could deliver new heroes, new maps, modes, and more to the community on a frequent and consistent basis.”
Those upgrades will be delivered every nine weeks through seasonal events, according to the team. Overwatch 2’s development director, Paul Halile, stated that fans would be able to see what he means in the game’s second beta, which will be available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.
These are some of the updates coming to Overwatch 2 in October and December
- There won’t be any more loot boxes, though the event teased a battle pass and an in-game store for Overwatch 2.
- Competitive play will have a post-match report, giving players a breakdown of their performance.
- PvE in 2023 will have playable canonical storylines
- The game will add Rio- and Portugal-based maps
- Mythic skins, which are cosmetic skins designed to be a step above legendary skins, will be added, as well as character charms to display on weapons and banners.
Junker Queen, the game’s new tank hero, received a new origin narrative and cinematic at the event. Junker Queen is the first Overwatch character created expressly for Overwatch 2’s 5v5 gameplay, as seen in the Junkertown escort map announcement video. On June 28, she’ll be playable in Overwatch 2’s second beta. Here’s a breakdown of what she’s capable of.
- She wields a giant battle-ax, which, is good for her.
- Her abilities replenish her health by draining enemies, similar to Moira.
- She has a Jagged Blade weapon, which is a short knife named Gracie, that Junker Queen can melee and yet at enemies as a secondary attack, creating a wound. Calling Jagged Blade back to Junker Queen will bring a stabbed enemy toward you.
- Junker Queen’s Ultimate: Rampage is a forward charge attack of magnetized metal that damages and debuffs enemy healing, like Ana’s biotic grenades.
Overwatch 2 is slated to release on October 4.
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