Years after the failures to deliver on the promises of a full sequel, Blizzard is finally “dropping the 2” and turning its hero shooter back into a game just titled Overwatch. That news, along with a look at a new commitment to delivering story in Overwatch was revealed at the Overwatch Spotlight event today.
Overwatch Abandons the Sequel
When people look back on Overwatch 2, there will likely be a lot of bad feelings towards it. When originally announced in 2019, the sequel was supposed to bring in PvE elements that had many players excited, especially if you are a fan of the lore and story in this world.
The story and hero missions modes that were talked up at that announcement brought a ton of new abilities and playstyles to the game that really excited people. Unfortunately, after a long, drawn out development, including a long stretch of time where the original Overwatch felt dull and stagnant, hero missions were eventually scrapped and the story was released in the three mission Invasion pack that grossly undersold and was quietly discontinued along with many story elements. Since then, Overwatch has mainly released comics and an odd short story or two before the lead up to the Spotlight event today. In short, Overwatch 2 never felt like a sequel, but more of a big update at launch in 2022.
While Overwatch 2 never delivered on its promises, the changes that Aaron Keller and the rest of the Overwatch team have made over the years have greatly improved the experience. 2025 was one of the best years for the game ever, and after the announcement of five heroes being added next week plus tons of other features like perks, bans, and more, things are looking much better today than they have in the past.
What is The Reign of Talon?
The Reign of Talon is being described as “the bold new chapter” of Overwatch. At the end of 2025, Vendetta was added to the game, which has big implications on the world as she wrestles control of Talon away from Doomfist.
Going forward, we would be surprised if Blizzard commits to making regular cinematics like they used to, but the plan seems to be that in-game events, comics, short stories, and map updates to reflect the state of the story could be a more recurring thing. Essentially, The Reign of Talon is a year-long promise to finally start pushing the narrative forward. With 2026 being the 10th anniversary of Overwatch, there really has never been any progression, just adding more and more parties into the mix.
The biggest unfortunate news through all of this is the lack of a series announcement. At this point, that might never happen, but it is nice regardless to finally see some initiative from Overwatch to start having things happen in this world that is filled with so many characters that people like, and continues to grow.
