Overwatch 2: 13 Things We Learned From Blizzconline

In order to improve on the feel of the game, and with the technology advancement between the pre-2016 Overwatch development and current 2021 tools and resources, the Overwatch devs appear to be dedicating a lot of thought and design into how combat feels.

With their newly minted "Combat Feel Group", the devs have started designing new sounds, visual effects, and even movement and reaction when firing a weapon in Overwatch.

"Weapon 2.0 soundpass" changes how certain weapons sound, with live weapon recordings allowing them to test different environments, bringing a difference in atmospheric sound quality to when one fires a gun indoors, outdoors, or in urban areas - totally different from the overall consistent sound of the main game.

With Soldier 76's gun as a primary example, the change in sound comes with a slight change in recoil animation, as well as subtle camera shakes, to make the overall feel of playing each character much more satisfying.

This is crafted with the attention to detail the first Overwatch was so known for, with first-person animation unique to every character to make playing them feel different for each.