Overwatch 2 PvE update leaves players wondering how and when it will be rolled out

Overwatch 2 still plans to drop PvE mode in 2023.

Overwatch developers have been discussing the addition of a campaign and PvE mode in Overwatch 2 since the game was announced. A lot of players were disappointed when the game came out without any of the single-player options previously showcased by Blizzard. Now, developer Aaron Keller has revealed that the team is working on how to release the campaign mode.

Last year, developers discussed a PvE mode that would further explore each hero's backstory and dive deeper into different parts of Overwatch's rich lore. This mode would also have skill trees for each hero that unlocks custom versions of their abilities to use in the PvE mode. But this mode has been absent from Overwatch 2 ever since.

As players kept wondering about the possibility of a campaign, developers shared a road map that claimed PvE was coming in 2023. No date was given.

Now, Keller has re-confirmed that PvE is coming but admitted that the content can only be released once the campaign is finished. He stated that the Overwatch 2 team is still finalizing how the campaign will be rolled out, which has left some Overwatch 2 players confused.

Will the PvE mode be dropped in full during an upcoming season or will it be released in segments over time? This is unfortunately still unknown.

Keller did not state that the campaign is being delayed, but the Overwatch community has been discussing a possible release date based on Overwatch 2's content drop pattern. According to the content already confirmed for upcoming seasons, players believe that PvE is coming in Season 7. This would be in October, the one-year anniversary of the new game.

Right now, it's a mystery! Developers have made it clear that the campaign will be very focused on lore, however, promising it will "push the story forward."

According to Blizzard, the campaign will consist of hero missions that bring players around the world to complete various challenges. The missions will be "highly replayable," according to developers, giving players rewards for completing them.

The missions will be on existing maps and utilize similar goals to online modes, but will switch it up with various weather conditions and unique ways to complete these goals, with different enemies and abilities.

There will also be story missions, the main attraction of PvE. This is where all the lore will be explored, with cinematics and everything. New maps specific to this mode will be introduced as well, showing more backstory for each hero. Within these maps, you will escort people to certain checkpoints and other dynamic challenges.

There will be an abundance of new enemies. The ones that have been showcased so far are robotic in nature.

The biggest change is the hero trees, however. Each hero will have three talent trees that have a specific gameplay style and power. An old screenshot of Soldier: 76's talent trees show three trees with different trees, one focused on firepower and one focused on healing and controlling the area.

A screenshot of Reinhardt's tree shows that he has an ability that works with Mei, showing the importance of teamwork and team structure in the campaign. Essentially, he deals more damage to frozen enemies and they also stay frozen when pinned by a charging Reinhardt.

Unfortunately, most of this information is from BlizzConline from almost three years ago. Blizzard hasn't really talked about PvE mode in detail ever since so it's unclear if anything has changed and what will be included when it finally launches later in 2023.