Overwatch 2: Game Changes We Expect to See in 2023

We go over some of the game changes we’re expecting to see in Overwatch 2 during 2023.

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Overwatch 2 became available in early October, and it quickly became one of Blizzard’s most popular games. Almost two and a half months later, the game still has tons of active players. In fact, Season 1 came to an end a few days ago, and players have access to Season 2. What’s interesting about it is that it included several hero changes, a new Overwatch 2 tank, as well as new cosmetic items and a map.

All of those things are great and make the game more interesting. However, the game still has some problems that players have to deal with. Many of them are used to those things, but we’ve decided to address them in this article. 

Some effort from Blizzard to attract more active players

During the first couple of days after its release, Overwatch 2 was the most popular game in the world. We had to wait in queue for up to an hour just to get the chance to play. Sadly, the hype didn’t last long because, almost 2 months later, the game does not have that many players.

Some of the highest-rated Overwatch 2 players must wait several minutes to find a game. This also applies to people in the lower ranks, especially when they play early in the morning.  This is very strange, considering that Blizzard put a lot of effort into its game and wants to make it as appealing as possible.

To be fair, the same thing happened with Overwatch, but the game was definitely more relevant during the first couple of months. Moreover, it even won the game of the year award because it had millions of users in 2019. However, things haven’t been going well ever since, and it seems like Overwatch 2 has the same problems as its predecessor. 

The decisions that led to the problems

One of the first things we have to point out when it comes down to why Overwatch became less popular than before is the developer’s decision. By buffing certain heroes, they changed the meta in a way that did not appeal to a lot of people. For example, there were times when everyone played the double shield setups, which made some DPS heroes feel useless.

Truth be told, Overwatch 2 fixed this issue by nerfing most shields and allowing teams to have only 1 tank. However, it seems like this wasn’t enough to bring back the majority of people who played before.

Nerfs to some heroes

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The constant updates that we see in Overwatch 2 have an effect on the meta and usually make certain heroes feel much stronger/weaker than before. That said, a couple of Overwatch 2 heroes have been really strong since the beginning, and despite the nerfs, they continue to be among the best.

Starting with Roadhog, he is one of the go-to tanks in Overwatch in Season 2 and was among the best in Season 1. Doomfirst had a slight edge over him for the first couple of days of S2. However, once Blizzard decided to nerf him, Hog reclaimed his throne.

Despite the fact that he is not overpowered, the hero is powerful in the hands of those who can play with him. Consequently, we expect to see some kind of changes in the future.

Sojourn is another name that had to be nerfed, and thankfully, Blizzard did that a few days ago. As you know, she was one of the go-to options for the highest-rated Overwatch 2 players

Changes to the rank system

One of the problems that every competitive game goes through is related to the rankings system. Whether it comes down to CSGO, Dota 2 or Overwatch, there are players that aren’t happy with the way things are. Hence, they expect Bllizard to make some changes that would make competitive play much more interesting.

For example, one of the things that many people don’t like is the separation between role queue and open queue. Even though this has its perks because it allows people to find a game faster, some think it has the opposite effect. When talking about the Open Queue, you have to keep in mind that you will eventually come across game ruiners and people who will play whatever they want to. However, due to the faster queue time, people prefer to take risks and use this option.

New content

While it is true that Season 2 in Overwatch 2 will give us access to a couple of new things, some people will be interested in a lot more than that. In fact, one of the problems that players often point out is that OW 2 does not feel that different from OW1. Sure, there are new maps and heroes, but the game remains relatively the same. 

Of course, Blizzard did this on purpose because it didn’t want to change everything from the ground up. Instead of releasing major changes, the game focuses more on cosmetic items and skins . This is a topic for another day because some skins have ridiculous prices, and we’re wondering who pays so much money to get them.

PVE

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Last but not least, we really hope that Overwatch 2 will eventually give us access to PVE. Even though this may not attract a lot of people at first, the fact that a group of friends can gather and play together will definitely have a positive impact on the game and its popularity.

The bad news is that we do not know much about the upcoming PVE update and when it will take place. According to some rumors, Blizzard should release it in 2023, but who knows, we might have to wait several more months.

While it is true that Overwatch 2 could be better, overall, it is safe to say that the game is better than its predecessor. The fact that there are no more double shield setups is more than enough for some people to get back. However, Blizzard will have to step up its game if it wants Overwatch 2 to gain more players in the long run.