Overwatch 2 Developer Defends Controversial Changes

Overwatch 2 is making some big changes to the tank role, and as you would expect, many Overwatch fans looking forward to the sequel haven’t been very receptive to these changes. Meanwhile, others have been dying for more details on the changes and how exactly the class will play in the sequel. While addressing the latter in a Blizzard Forum post, a community manager on the game defended the former, aka the changes. 

For those that don’t know: the big and controversial sticking point has been that the sequel is reducing team sizes to five, and in the process, is also limiting teams to a single tank. Of course, these changes will have big meta implications and will impact the class and those who play it greatly. To this end, the aforementioned community manager pleads with fans to withhold on judging the changes until going hands-on with the game.

“I do understand that some of us have very strong feelings about changing to a single tank, and it’s going to take more than a response like this to fully convince you that this is a net positive change,” said the developer. “To be completely candid: I understand that you need to get your hands on the game and experience it for yourself to fully form an opinion. As someone who was an OW fan and player before I ever joined the team, I have a huge amount of empathy for folks who are frustrated waiting for OW2. Speaking as someone who plays retail comp nightly, and playtests 2 almost daily, it’s difficult to envision what the experience is actually like until you’ve been in the environment and played several matches. I sincerely do not mean this in a gatekeep-y or ‘we know better than you’ tone, but more to create an understanding that we get your sentiment and understand where your feedback is coming from.”

Unfortunately, there’s no word when Overwatch fans will get a chance to play the game. There’s no word of a release date or a beta. That said, if the sequel is following in the footsteps of its predecessor, it will get a beta. Meanwhile, for more information on how tanks will work in the sequel, be sure to check out the aforementioned forum post, which can be viewed here.