Overwatch 2 recently launched on Steam to Overwhelmingly Negative reviews, with a variety of factors contributing to make the game one of the worst-rated of all time on the platform. The timing of the release – which was aligned with the arrival of paid story missions, and following the cancellation of a highly-anticipated story mode – was largely blamed for the negative tide, although one analyst flagged that many reviews were written in Simplified Chinese, suggesting regional dissatisfaction following local publisher turmoil.
Whatever the reason, it quickly became clear that players were unhappy with the rollout of Overwatch 2, with many expressing this in countless ‘thumbs down’ reviews. Now, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller is addressing the feedback, promising to push forward with plans for Overwatch in the hopes of changing minds.
In a blog post, Keller said that while review-bombing was not a ‘fun experience’, the game’s launch on Steam was seen as a net positive, as it allowed new players to experience Overwatch 2. ‘Our goal with Overwatch 2 has been to make the game more accessible than ever for more people than ever before,’ Keller said.
Read: Overwatch 2 becomes one of the worst-rated games on Steam
In saying that, he also acknowledged the heart of the criticism levelled at the game: that its long-planned story mode was cancelled, and that the overwhelming disappointment may stem from this announcement.
‘Many of the reviews on Steam mention the cancellation of the much larger component of PvE that was announced in 2019 as one of their primary reasons for dissatisfaction with the game. I get that,’ Keller said. ‘That announcement was about an ambitious project that we ultimately couldn’t deliver. If we can’t turn back the clock, then what can we do? We can keep adding to and improving Overwatch 2. That is how we move forward.’
To that end, Keller has outlined future plans for Overwatch 2, which includes adding in new ‘maps, heroes, game modes, missions, stories, events, cool cosmetics, and features’ to foster an ‘ever-expanding, evolving, and improving game’.
With more than 152,000 reviews contributing to the game’s Overwhelmingly Negative response on Steam, the Blizzard development team has a long road ahead – but Keller appears optimistic that Overwatch 2 will eventually turn a corner, given enough time and improvements.
