When the sequel to Overwatch was announced at BlizzCon 2019--where the game was also playable--it was with the promise of a PvE Hero component that would allow players to gather their squads and play through a narrative-driven multiplayer experience. On top of that, each of the heroes that they'd come to know and love would be reworked for PvE and given progression systems that would allow players to unlock new talents. It was an ambitious new mode that, in many ways, was used to justify the "2" at the end of the title.
Now, however, Blizzard has confirmed that the promised PvE Hero component will not be released at all. In a video, game director Aaron Keller and executive producer Jared Neuss said that the team had made the decision to take the PvE elements of Overwatch 2 in a different direction and
detailed a roadmap for upcoming seasons that reveal a new hero, maps, rebalances, and a number of story-focused additions.
According to Keller and Neuss, this decision was made for the good of the game and its live multiplayer component.
