Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan Says Overwatch 2 "Isn't Just DLC or an Expansion"

Overwatch 2, the sequel to Blizzard's popular hero shooter Overwatch, is a bit of an oddity. Because the game is set to share multiplayer updates and characters with the original, some fans have been left scratching their heads as to why this is a sequel at all. Wouldn't an added player-versus-environment (PvE) mode make more sense as, say, DLC or an expansion? Not according to Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan, apparently.

"This isn't just DLC or an expansion," Kaplan recently told The Washington Post. "I play a lot of games. I can't think of a single DLC or expansion of this magnitude."

He also told the Post that the sequel "isn't as controversial as it sounds." While it's hard to judge the sequel on its content given how little we've actually seen of it -- pretty much just the reveal and so on from BlizzCon 2019 -- Kaplan and Blizzard claim that it's such a substantial, different addition that a sequel just made sense.

"There's so many people who are deeply engaged with our characters because we've put these heroes in the forefront," he said. "They would love to engage with the characters in a way that is a little bit less high pressure to them. So we felt like, you know, if we could deliver one really massive feature to our fans, it would be to blow out the co-operative side of the game."

What do you think of what we've seen of Overwatch 2 so far? Are you excited to check out what the sequel has to offer, or will you be sticking with whatever manages to come to the original? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Overwatch 2 is currently in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It's unclear exactly when it might release. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming sequel right here.