The Tragedy of Overwatch

Blizzard Entertainment made a name for itself by taking big swings, developing video games whose day one offerings paled in comparison to what the experiences evolved into five to 10 years down the road. World of Warcraft set a particularly high bar, so much so that the studio spent years and an untold number of resources attempting to replicate such success on multiple occasions. One such World of Warcraft-like adventure, codenamed Project Titan, remained in production for seven years before company leads finally pulled the plug. A small crew within Blizzard wouldn’t let their extensive time and effort be for naught, however. From the remnants of the class-based FPS MMO arose Overwatch, another new IP that ultimately left an indelible mark on multiplayer gaming.

Launched to much anticipation in May 2016, the original Overwatch took the world by storm. Its rollout as a premium title surprised even the most insightful of analysts, but Blizzard’s aggressive approach with in-game purchases quickly cleared up any confusion. To the dismay of fans, divisive monetization practices marked only the start of Overwatch’s various controversies.

The forced free-to-play update that rendered Overwatch unplayable to make room for Overwatch 2 tipped the scales, and many would argue things progressively went down hill. Blizzard’s sudden cancelation of a promised PvE campaign mode, alongside disappointing Battle Passes and the esports league’s questionable outlook, poisoned the well for those who wanted better for the sequel. If and when the future will start looking brighter seems wishful thinking for a contingent of the community, especially since other Blizzard games demonstrate the studio’s habit of vacillating between the high and low ends of quality content releases.

This is the tragedy of Overwatch.

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[LordMazafeff]

It's amazing to live in a time where every creative game I have ever enjoyed gets to turn to shit, truly amazing.

[DarklinWolf]

"I have faith in 3 game companies: The Three B's. Bethesda, Bioware, and Blizzard" - The most wrong guy in the history of gaming, 2011

[RedzaMalaysianCrossover]

It's no longer Overwatch, it's Over.

[steel]

Dude the OW1 lootboxes were a BLESSING compared to what we have now. If you just played the game back then you'd get tons of cosmetics, it was very generous in comparison to now.

[coolbrotherf]

22:39 I'm not surprised Blizzard died when the "business experts" starting calling the shots instead of the game developers. They often have zero consideration for the audience of the products, only their paycheck.

[amharbingerreactions]

It's not Blizzard Entertainment anymore, it's Activision Blizzard now. All the people who made those games and the IPs that made the company are gone now. Zombies.

[Pewpewpew]

Blizzard really shot themselves in the foot with this golden goose.
Ah well.

[chrissketches]

This game is the literal definition of reaching the mountain top and then just falling off the cliff from tripping in their own boot laces.

[OceanTheFreak]

The sad thing is. We cant go back and play Overwatch 1 as it was. I loved Overwatch so much. But seeing what it is now. Their is a reason i dont play anymore.

[longarmsshow]

This video makes me miss OG Overwatch.

[Silvershire]

Overwatch was one of my top three favorite games for a long time, but now I never play it. It had the potential to be the biggest thing on the planet, and I'm heartbroken that Blizzard managed to fumble it so badly.

[apollo]

Crazy how Battleborn had no issue balancing both the Singleplayer and Multiplayer aspects of the game, in fact Battleborn launched with both at the same time. That game did not deserve its failure…

[ruben_zermeno]

People thought that Team Fortress 2 was going to die sooner or later, thanks to the appearance of Overwatch. But it turns out that Overwatch was the one being killed, but by itself.

[xxGravyBabyxx]

2016-2017 Overwatch was peak gaming. I still have highlights of massive plays i accomplished stuck in my head.

It sucks what it became because I truly miss the game when it was fun.

[Bumkuchen]

I was there when Blizzard asked us whether we (don't) have mobile phones to play their new Diablo game...And that moment will haunt me until the end of my days...

[discountdisco]

The perfect example of how greed and mismanagement can ruin a franchise

[shinobipizza]

I used to absolutely adore Overwatch 1. I have so many wonderful memories with it. A refreshing setting, amazing characters, solid gameplay, everything about Overwatch was just fun. Despite the terrible lootbox system, the stupid AFK rules, and a few hiccups here and there, I still loved Overwatch 1.

I can't believe Blizzard would just up and purposely ruin their brand new franchise the way they did with Overwatch 2. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm just heartbroken.

[TheShoe]

I never played Overwatch, but the art and character designs are so cool and had so much potential. We should've got a movie, a fighting game, a single player game, etc.

[KTKomedy]

From the hottest new FPS from a once-beloved studio to a completely 100% worthless waste of time, effort and money from the poisoned husk of a company.

Not many stories about anything can be more tragic than that.

[kyleofbones]

Imagine making a monetization system so bad in Overwatch 2 that it makes you miss lootboxes...think about that.