20 Stupid Decisions That Destroyed Their Franchise

2016’s Overwatch was hugely successful and beloved, bolstering the hero shooter subgenre with its lovably energetic gameplay, characters, and personality. In fact, it remained so popular that when its sequel was announced in late 2019, many players dismissed it as wholly superfluous.

However, preliminary promises of new modes, heroes, maps, and a greater focus on story assuaged some fears and garnered more interest from the community. In particular, the prospect of single-player content – plus a hefty PvE (Player versus Environment) co-op mode designed to foster a connected narrative with cutscenes and unique character agency – seemingly legitimized Overwatch 2’s existence.

After all, past multiplayer-only FPS titles drew criticism for not giving solo players enough to do, and making the follow-up to an immensely fashionable IP would’ve been the perfect time to rectify that.

Of course, Blizzard scrapped those schemes before launch to prioritize refining Overwatch 2’s PvP (Player versus Player) systems. Understandably, much of the fanbase felt deceived by pre-release marketing and journalism while also feeling less confident that the game would sufficiently differentiate itself from its predecessor.

Eventually, Blizzard promised that the PvE content would arrive post-launch, but despite a few missions subsequently appearing, they largely abandoned their vision. By the time story-less single-player mode Hero Mastery emerged in late 2023, the brand’s reputation was already seriously weakened.