Once upon a time,Overwatchwas ahead of the curve. Overwatch was the curve. While there were other early birds in the race to monetise every second of our time spent gaming (Fortnite,Ultimate Team, the gacha trend), I would suggest that the main cause of the live-service nightmare we currently endure is Overwatch.BlizzardhasConcord’sblood on its hands. But recent news that Blizzard is developing a mobile game based on Overwatch shows how far it has fallen.
This is not some petty dig at mobile games. Some mobile games are great, and (aside from those indulging in obvious cash-grabbery), I respect that even ones I don’t enjoy can offer an easier, cheaper avenue into gaming than consoles and PCs. Instead, it’s a petty dig at Overwatch. Once the world leader in its genre (and the industry, winning Game of the Year in 2016), it has been on a long stumble for years now.
Overwatch 2 Showed Blizzard Was Following, Not Leading
Maybe it all started withOverwatch 2. At a time when gamers were locked into hero shooters like Overwatch (and the many games it directly inspired) being forever games, a sequel seemed strange. To justify its existence, it promised a story mode campaign that would offer a new level of depth not only to its world, but to what hero shooters were capable of.
There were some grumbles that this seemed like a reaction to the lootbox gravy train running dry, with Blizzard moving to the battle pass model that presented itself as fairer, doling out awards for skill and commitment, but actually required far more grinding. Not to mention new heroes being paywalled for the first time in its history. With loot boxes, you could get lucky and take the house for a ride, even if the house always wins in the long run. But with a battle pass, there was a higher buy in and a greater requirement to never stop playing Overwatch.
But hey, at least it would havethis revolutionary story mode. Then it was revealedit would not have this story mode at launch. Then it was revealed that itwould not have this story mode at all. So, aside from the obvious reason for recharging the old Wallet Extractor 3000 that had run out of juice as the world moved on from loot boxes, there was no reason for Overwatch 2 to exist. Yet exist it did, and while it had a shiny new toy bump at launch, it has never been close to the levels of world domination the original once achieved.
Can Overwatch Do Anything New In The Mobile Genre?
And now we come to the mobile game. Details on it are scant right now, coming from Jason Scherier’s book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment.As quoted by Dexerto, the passage reads “Overwatch was led by Walter Kong, who oversaw the release of regular heroes and content for Overwatch 2, as well as new projects like a mobile version of the franchise”. We don’t know if it’s a new game or a mobile port of Overwatch 2 itself, but whatever it is, it feels indicative of Overwatch’s current place in the ecosystem.
Once a trend setter, Overwatch has fallen behind, and is now having to chase better ideas from other games to get a foothold. The likes ofCall of DutyandPUBGhave shown there is huge profit (and a massive player base) in mobile shooters, but where these games were able to get in early and find that player base untapped, the well is now in danger of running dry.
Of course, Overwatch is still very popular, and is a massive brand. Moving into mobile would be a big deal. Considering Call of Duty is made under the Activision Blizzard umbrella, andDiablo Mobileis made under Blizzard’s own roof, this would not be a fumble in the dark. Kong’s involvement also points to this being a priority for Overwatch rather than a cash grab off to the side. I mean like, a bigger cash grab than usual, you know?
We have no way to judge whether Overwatch’s mobile game will be any good - we don’t even know what it is. And it may well arrive with some new feature that reminds us why Overwatch was leading the pack for so long. But it feels like a move inspired by a desire to follow the herd, and ultimately, that seems much more Overwatch’s speed these days.
