Overwatch 2 announced at BlizzCon 2019

Just a few days after rumours started to swirl about a sequel to Overwatch being announced at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has officially announced Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2, like its predecessor, is still a multiplayer game. However, the key difference is that this time players are working together, not against each other.

You can watch a special cinematic, Zero Hour, below.

The cinematic shows Tracer, Mei, and Winston in Paris, fighting against a large group of rebellious omnics. Things look dire and proceed to get even worse when an enormous omnic shows up, fully prepared to unleash hell.

Both the day and Paris are saved, however, with the rest of the Overwatch crew coming to the rescue! The lineup is completed with a brand new friendly face – the rumoured new robot Hero, Echo.

Overwatch 2 is set to delve deep into the game’s lore, with players working together to complete story-based PvE missions. The PvE missions will be split into two categories, known as Story Experience and Hero Missions.

Progress will carry on from the original Overwatch, meaning players won’t have to rebuild from the ground up. All cosmetics will also carry over.

The game will still keep its player vs. player mode, though. A new game mode, known as Push, will be debuting in Overwatch 2. In Push, the two opposing teams must help a robot down a path. The winning team is whoever pushes the robot the furthest distance.

Overwatch 1 players will also be able to cross-play with Overwatch 2. Using the same characters and maps that are available in both games, players from the original game will be able to join multiplayer matches in the sequel.

You can watch a brand new gameplay trailer for the game below.

It’s also been announced that all 31 heroes (“plus more” says Jeff Kaplan!) will be getting an “upgraded look.” The refreshed look will be available in both games.

Blizzard also confirmed that along with Echo, the new Hero Sojourn will be appearing in Overwatch 2 as a brand new playable Hero. Sojourn has shown up before in Overwatch video content, with her appearances implying she has ties to Ana Amari and friends. Echo and Sojourn will both be coming to the first Overwatch, so players won’t miss out.

Blizzard says that all of the new PvP content in Overwatch 2 will be available in the first Overwatch. That means the four new maps – Toronto, Gothenburg, Monte Carlo, and Rio de Janeiro – will be available to play in both games.

The new game mode, Push, will also be coming to the original Overwatch. As such, unless you want to experience PvE missions, explore the game’s lore, or try out new hero talents, then there’s no urgent reason to buy Overwatch 2 any time soon.

There’s currently no announced release date for Overwatch 2 but we can safely assume it’ll most likely be out in 2020. There’s a chance that PC users will get the game earlier, with a later release date for console players to line up with the release of Xbox’s Project Scarlett and Sony’s PlayStation 5.

Overwatch 2 is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.