Overwatch 2’s PvE content scrapped as devs are denied bonuses for the first time, report claims

Overwatch 2’s beleaguered PvE content has reportedly been scrapped.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported yesterday that following “poor” sales of its prior PvE missions, the company “does not plan to finish” any PvE content currently in development, and will instead “double down” on PvP gameplay.

The report also intimated that a “decade-long battle” between Blizzard and parent company Activision had divided management over bonuses. Blizzard had always shared bonuses company-wide to avoid “everyone [wanting] to work on the most successful games rather than experiment with new ideas”, but former Activision boss, Bobby Kotich, had long argued that only those “behind the most lucrative products should be rewarded”.

Furthermore, Overwatch 2 devs were told in August 2023 that due to the sequel’s middling performance, they “shouldn’t have received anything” but at the time, the company had allegedly agreed to cover “some of the bonuses” to make up for the shortfall.

Earlier this week, however, Overwatch 2 staff were told they’d receive nothing, even though previously, Blizzard staff would get a bonus based on the overall performance of the company, not just the individual games people worked on. But that’s now seemingly changed.

“Failing to get any profit-sharing bonus is rare at Blizzard and is the result of a major policy change that was enacted in 2023,” Bloomberg said. “Previously, employees would receive bonuses based on the overall performance of the company. But last summer, the payouts became tied to the performance of each specific franchise. Since their titles were more successful in 2023, teams on games such as Diablo and World of Warcraft received bonuses this month, but the Overwatch developers weren’t so lucky.”

Last month, Activision Blizzard said it was making “major changes” to Overwatch 2 as part of a “revitalisation” of the free-to-play shooter that hopes to “make PvP gameplay more rewarding and fun”, as well as “provide greater transparency for players in-game”.

In a candid blog, the team insisted it had “heard [the] feedback” from players about the competitive play over the last eight seasons, and has plans to introduce “big updates” to enable you to better build on your skills and “see how you progress through the competitive ranks”.

Last week, Blizzard also said it was overhauling the way it introduces new heroes into Overwatch 2 starting in Season 10, by making them free and immediately available to all players instead of locking them behind the game’s premium battle pass or a progression grind, as was previously the case.

600 Activision Blizzard quality assurance (QA) workers recently voted to unionise.