Blizzard releases first Overwatch 2 teasers

1 June 2022

It has only been a few weeks since the Overwatch 2 beta concluded, but developer Blizzard has already published new teasers about the coming updates for the hugely popular team-based shooter on the game’s official Twitter account. Their official introduction is expected in June of this year, and players and fans alike are looking forward to the official announcement, as there appear to be several important updates coming our way, including several new Heroes and various reworks.

Mystery event announcement

On May 17th, right after the end of the Overwatch 2 beta test, the game’s developers published a blogpost on the PlayOverwatch website to thank players for testing the beta version and for providing valuable feedback, and to let them know that Overwatch 2 was not ready for launch just yet. “Tests like this are a vital part of the process of improving Overwatch”, explains Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller, “We can’t wait to take everything we’ve learned from the beta and apply it to the game, and we’re so excited to get it back in front of you”.

Naturally, the announcement got a lot of reactions going on social media, with Jon Spector, Vice-President at Blizzard Entertainment and Overwatch’s Commercial Leader, answering some of the fans’ questions and providing information on the upcoming event in June. “The June 16th event is where we’ll have more significant OW2 news to cover”, Spector writes in response to one of the fans asking about more Overwatch 2 news, “So while we do want players to continue to hear from us (as you’ve hopefully seen us doing for the last several months), for the next few weeks, we will be somewhat quieter on OW2 communication”.

Beta’s success affected by lack of ranked mode

Despite the lack of actual new content in the Overwatch 2 beta version, the testing phase turned out to be a modest success for Blizzard. Shifting from 6v6 to 5v5 was a risky move that panned out well, but the success was mainly thanks to the fact that the beta actually broke the original game’s Twitch record, resulting in many players returning to the shooter. This showed that interest in the game has far from waned and that there is a considerable audience waiting for more news on Overwatch 2.

One of the most common complaints about the Overwatch 2 beta test was that it lacked ranked mode, which is one of the original game’s most popular features. Though players and testers clearly seemed to enjoy the beta, the absence of a ranked mode made its appeal limited. Some players felt like there was not much to do, which explains why some players stopped testing the game after a while. This is a common complaint for beta tests though, and definitely not something that only Overwatch 2 has had to deal with. In any case, Ranked Mode will certainly play a central role in the final version of the game and is expected to feature in the next beta versions as well.