With the launch of the new season of Overwatch 2 bringing with it a new PvE game mode, Blizzard has stated that the game has now officially exited its early access phase. According to IGN, executive producer Jared Neuss declared Overwatch 2 to now be a “full” live service game with the launch of Season 6: Invasion.
According to Neuss, the idea of Overwatch 2 having been an early access game so far stems less from the amount of content in the game and more from how the studio working on the title operates. Neuss states that processes have been created now that makes bringing more content to the game more streamlined.
“Invasion is the point at which we move on from early access,” Neuss said. “For me it’s less about content threshold and more about, are we operating the game we want to operate? Is this the structure, the cadence, the amount of things we are able to make in release that we think moves us away from this learning period and into this, really operating a game at a full feature level? For me, Overwatch 2 Invasion is that moment.
“We have a bunch of these features we found to be gaps in the game, like finding better ways to recognise player time and investment, learning things about competitive and making adjustments to that, with future adjustments planned… these are all things we got out of that initial period, and now we’re able to move forward and settle into a rhythm. For me, this is the moment where we move out of that early access phase and into full live game operations phase.”
Season 6: Invasion is quite possibly the biggest update Overwatch 2 has seen since its initial release. Alongside new support hero Illari, the game now also has PvE content that players can buy for around $15. The season is also bringing with it a new battle pass, the new Flashpoint PvP mode, and a limited-time PvE event dubbed King’s Row: Underworld.
Currently, the story content in Overwatch 2 allows players to take part in missions in the Resistance (Rio de Janeiro), Liberation (Toronto), and Ironclad (Gothenburg) levels. Overwatch 2 is available for free on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The PC version of the game is also now available on Steam.