by JR Cook - 4 years ago     show comments

Jeff Kaplan took to the stage to talk about what we can expect for the future of the Overwatch franchise in their What’s Next panel. Let’s get into the details!

• New push gamemode has players using a robot to push a barricade to different checkpoints. The objective is for a team to escort the robot to the final objective in order to win. Kind of like the payload game mode but without a dedicated defending or attacking team. Both teams have the same objective.
• The robot moves in a direct patch through the map but there’s a lot of flank routes and shortcuts for players to use.
• Toronto is the first map that is being showcased on the Push game mode.
• There will be a lot of new maps created for both push and other multiplayer modes.
• All of the maps from OW1 will be playable in OW2. They aren’t leaving any of the content from the previous game behind.
• They are bringing a full story mode to OW2.
• All story missions will have a cinematic introduction and a cinematic outro.
• Heroes that you can play as for each story mission will be curated for better story telling.
• There will be an item system in the missions that plays into your abilities and act as use-able equipment to help you complete missions.
• Hero missions are designed to be highly re-playable PvE content that will come alongside a new hero progression system with levels and skill unlocks.
• Hero missions will have different objectives and enemy types each playthrough to keep things fresh and “highly replayable”
• Each hero will be playable in hero missions with their own progression.
• Hero talents are the hero based skill unlocks. As you level up you unlock new and different talents that you can swap between. The talents can alter abilities and make them stronger. You’ll be able to tailor your talent picks to suit your playstyle.
• You can choose talents that gives piercing projectiles to Genji’s ult or a talent that causes Reinhardt’s ult to go in all directions.
• As of right now talents are implemented in Story missions and Hero misisons. They were originally intended for just Hero missions.
• Hero visuals have been updated with more detail, higher fidelity, and different styles.
• The HUD has also been updated to be clearer and more sleek looking.
• OW2 is going to launch on PC, PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch with multiple new heroes and a full lineup of new maps.
• Every new hero and map that gets added into OW2 will also be playable in OW1
• There is no release date yet as it’s still early in development.