Game Over for Overwatch

Evelyn Willet

When big-time gaming company Activision Blizzard came out with Overwatch 2, it was supposed to be new and improved. The game was promised to have upgrades like more characters, faster loading speeds and updated player-versus-player options, changes both fans and critics of the game anticipated for three years. 

Overwatch 2 came out on October 2, 2022. It’s been over a year since it made history as the worst-rated game on Steam and a year since Activation Blizzard made one of the gaming industry’s largest PR mistakes: overpromising and underdelivering. 

It was like receiving half of your food order after paying the full price. Overwatch 2 took away parts of the game that players liked, like 6v6, and replaced them with minor upgrades. Upgrades players anticipated within the game never came to fruition either. Game visuals were practically the same and there weren’t a lot of new characters. 

What put Blizzard in deep water was one of the main reasons for making Overwatch 2 in the first place: there was no PvE or player versus environment content an addition Blizzard promised.

Blizzard was seemingly marketed on a broken promise. What was said to be Overwatch 2 was just Overwatch 1/2 with minor changes and no PvE. 

The company's game director, Aaron Keller, told Verge that it could not deliver the PvE mode because Blizzard was “trying to do too many things at once,” and the team “lost focus.” Other comments coming from Blizzard were released, but the gaming community was furious about having their trust broken. 

“They (Activation Blizzard) can’t even listen to the community or the pros when it comes to making the gamer great,” a reviewer on Google Reviews wrote. “For any developers out there, please compete with this game and make a better one. It isn't hard to compete with the developers that don't talk to anyone, be it pros or players/ community.”

Let's dissect the PR pitfalls that Blizzard made before and during the release of Overwatch 2 now that we understand what happened.

1. Lack of Transparency: Blizzard did not notify players that it wouldn’t include PvE until the game came out.
   
2. Lack of Empathy: Blizzard published tone-deaf statements on why it couldn’t deliver its promise, not providing reasoning behind its decisions or plans of how it would fix its mistakes. 
   
3. False Advertising: Overwatch 2 was said to have a plethora of new updates in contrast to Overwatch 1. No big changes were made making the game visually the same, according to Phenixx Gaming.
   
4. Lack of closure: Blizzard did not compensate nor did it reach out to angry players. Though they are slowly adding better upgrades today, they should have provided more explanations and compensations for the loyal supporting public it let down.
   

Blizzards Overwatch 2 is an example to PR practitioners of the consequences that come with a broken promise. Years of prestige and good games can come to a halt when companies decide to ignore the very voices and opinions that pay their bills.

If there is one lesson Blizzard has taught, it’s that for your company to succeed, you need to prioritize its customers’ needs. Don’t play your public, or it's game over for your company.