Overwatch 2 Executive Producer Denies RTO Policy Causing Changes to PvE

Blizzard Entertainment dropped the news recently that Overwatch 2’s promised PvE Hero Mode and Talents had been scrapped. Instead, the team will focus on releasing story missions as part of its Seasons and Hero Mastery missions.

Game director Aaron Keller and executive producer Jared Neuss explained the reasons for pivoting away from previous plans. However, there was a rumor started by Twitter user @ClearTogether that PvE would have happened were it not for Blizzard’s mandatory Return to Office (RTO) policy. Though retracting the original tweet due to not verifying sources, Neuss addressed it all the same.

“I’ve seen speculation that the changes to PvE scope on Overwatch 2 are related to Blizzard’s RTO policy. For the record, that isn’t true. Managing PvE and PvP development simultaneously has been a challenge for the team for years. It’s a less exciting headline, but it’s reality.

“We’ll go into a bit more historical detail in the next Director’s Take. I hope the additional context can shed some light on why we made this decision.”

When told that people wouldn’t be satisfied no matter how much context was provided, Neuss responded, “I definitely don’t expect anyone upset to be satisfied. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve more of an explanation, though.”

The current plan is to release story missions, a new game mode (which could be called Flashpoint), two new maps, Hero Mastery missions, and a new Support hero in Season 6. Even more content is on the docket, which you can check out in the cancellation announcement. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.

Hi, I went ahead and pulled the thread that was posted.

I posted about what I was informed by one person at Blizzard, I realize I didn't verify my sources beyond that which I should have done.

I was advised because of that, I should take down my thread to be safe.

— ClearTogether (@ClearTogether) May 17, 2023

I've seen speculation that the changes to PvE scope on Overwatch 2 are related to Blizzard's RTO policy. For the record, that isn't true.

Managing PvE and PvP development simultaneously has been a challenge for the team for years. It's a less exciting headline but it's reality.

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023

We'll go into a bit more historical detail in the next Director's Take.

I hope that the additional context can shed some light on why we made this decision.

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023

I definitely don't expect anyone who is upset to be satisfied. That doesn't mean they don't deserve more of an explanation, though.

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023