BlizzCon 2019 marked the first official look at the highly-anticipated title Overwatch 2. The sequel to the hit online first-person shooter was still in early development at the time of Overwatch 2's initial reveal, and still has yet to receive an official release date. While details on the game haven't been bountiful, there's still a good bit that has been announced, like plans for cross-platform play between Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and other consoles.
Cross-platform play has greatly risen in popularity in recent years thanks to games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone. It's gotten to the point where cross-platform play is almost an expectation when it comes to the latest online first-person shooters. The constraints of being limited to gaming exclusively with other people who have the same console are now a thing of the past. Unfortunately for fans who are playing Overwatch, the game does not offer cross-platform play. Luckily, it seems this may be being fixed in the sequel.
In a Reddit AMA from summer 2020, Blizzard Vice President, Jeff Kaplan, was asked about the possibility of introducing cross-platform play into Overwatch. The VP said that they are passionate about the idea of crossplay and are exploring the possibilities. Considering Overwatch is available on every major gaming console, including Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC, crossplay is something fans have wanted implemented into the game for quite sometime. While this isn't necessarily a guarantee crossplay will appear in Overwatch 2, it's hard to view Kaplan's comments as anything but positive. The introduction of crossplay in Overwatch 2 would be huge for fans, but what might be even more impressive is the fact this sequel will be PvP-compatible with the original game.
Overwatch and Overwatch 2 Players Will Be Able to Play Online Together
While Overwatch 2 is listed as a sequel to the original game, it's more like a massive expansion pack really. The sequel will focus preeminently on introducing PvE story missions based on the popular Overwatch character cinematic videos that provide context to the game. Some semblance of a story mode has been long overdue in Overwatch, as the character cinematics have woven an interesting story about the members of Overwatch trying to defeat the evil Omnics. In addition to the PvE story missions, new characters and multiplayer modes will also be introduced in the sequel. But weirdly enough, they'll also be introduced in the original Overwatch as well.
Outside of the PvE story missions, it seems the original Overwatch will be receiving many of the new features being introduced in the sequel. This is likely to maintain balance between the two games as Overwatch and Overwatch 2 players will be able to play online together. It seems Blizzard's is trying to create one massive online playing space for the overall Overwatch community, which seems like a refreshing change of pace for an online game. Normally, when a sequel to a popular first-person shooter is released, the pervious games' online play takes a serious hit. Blizzard on the other hand is trying to maintain the totality of the Overwatch community by keeping the players they already have, while introducing the game to new players through the sequel.
The extent of crossplay in Overwatch 2 has yet to be officially confirmed, but the fact Blizzard has already acknowledge they're working on the idea is a major development. Fans hoping to find out more about this sequel likely won't have to wait very long, as BlizzConline will be taking place February 19th-20th, where there are sure to be more updates on Overwatch 2's development.
Source: Jeff Kaplan/Reddit