Skip to main content

Assault gorillas and militarized architects mix it up in Blizzard’s new shooter, Overwatch

blizzard overwatch gameplay videos
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Blizzard has announced Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer shooter with Pixar-esque graphics. This is Blizzard’s first new franchise since introducing Starcraft in 1998. The class-based, first-person shooting gameplay is reminiscent of Team Fortress 2 and Gearbox’s upcoming Battleborn.

A cinematic trailer reveals that the titular Overwatch were an international peacekeeping force that helped enforce stability during a time of global unrest. The group waned and then disbanded entirely as ostensible peace settled. Their work was far from over, though, as most became mercenaries and independent agents.

Teams of six players battle it out in Overwatch across a variety of futuristic locations around the world. Blizzard aims to strike a balance between easy-to-learn and hard-to-master in an accessible FPS that reaches a wider audiences than core fans of the genre while still providing depth for aficionados.

A gameplay trailer shows off the characters from the cinematic in action. Classes run the gamut from the heavy, melee assault gorilla Winston, to ranged specialists like Japanese archer Hanzo or support characters like the architect Symmetra.

According to sources at KotakuOverwatch was once part of Titan, Blizzard’s massively multiplayer follow-up to World of Warcraft which was cancelled recently. That game’s PvP elements were reportedly isolated into their own game some time in 2013.

Editors' Recommendations

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Overwatch 2’s newest hero Lifeweaver is a game-changer for support players
overwatch 2s new hero lifeweaver 2

Overwatch 2's next hero has officially been announced: The support-class hero Lifeweaver will debut in season 4 of the free-to-play shooter in mid-April. Lifeweaver will be the 37th hero on Overwatch 2’s roster, and the ninth support hero following Kiriko's release when the game launched in the fall of 2023.

Blizzard has yet to release specific details on Lifeweaver's abilities or backstory, but players can catch a glimpse of the hero's playstyle in a short gameplay trailer released today.

Read more
Counter-Strike 2 could succeed where Overwatch 2 failed
Soldiers in Counter-Strike 2 key art.

In 2023's most surprising news so far, Counter-Strike 2 is coming. The competitive shooter isn't just a follow-up to the massively popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but an upgrade to that game using the new Source 2 engine. A beta is already underway, with the full game scheduled to come sometime this summer. With how Valve is handling the project, I can't help but think of how Blizzard rolled out its own recent shooter sequel: Overwatch 2.

Both games are highly popular, competitive, and live-service style games with a heavy emphasis on cosmetics for monetization that have highly dedicated communities. The biggest similarity -- and also criticism in the case of Overwatch 2 -- is the fact that both sequels retroactively replace their predecessors, forcing everyone to upgrade to the sequel whether they want to or not. This is a relatively new concept in gaming, where older versions of online games become entirely inaccessible and Overwatch 2 didn't inspire a lot of confidence in it being a beneficial trend. That said, Counter-Strike 2 is already in a perfect position to succeed in all the ways Overwatch 2 failed.
If it ain't broke
In normal circumstances, a sequel is a developer's opportunity to iterate and make alterations to the core of the game that came before. Obviously, there's a limit to how big these changes should be -- a shooter shouldn't suddenly become a 2D fighting game -- but a combination of new features being added and old ones being removed is expected. That becomes a much trickier proposition in this new age of sequels where the new version is the only option. In the case of Overwatch 2 and Counter-Strike 2, players don't have the luxury of being able to keep playing the old version they loved.

Read more
Overwatch 2 removes Mei for at least 2 weeks due to ice wall exploit
Overwatch movie

Blizzard confirmed that it is temporarily removing Mei from Overwatch 2 until November 15 due to a bug discovered related to her Ice Wall ability.

https://twitter.com/BlizzardCS/status/1587189209844125696

Read more