A key rehire by Blizzard has prompted Overwatch 2 fans to gain hope for a potential return of PvE content. Overwatch 2 players currently have a lot going on with the return of its beloved Winter Wonderland game modes, the experimental 6v6 role queue, and even an Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover event. On top of all this, Season 14 introduced Hazard, Overwatch 2‘s latest tank hero, who’s able to climb walls and dive into enemy backlines.
PvE modes have been a small part of Overwatch for a long time, and the launch of Overwatch 2 in 2022 was supposed to see PvE take a bigger role. Players were left disappointed that Overwatch 2 launched without the PvE content that Blizzard had promised, as it was a large part of why a sequel was being made in the first place. While Overwatch 2‘s Season 6 Invasion, which went live in August 2023, brought a set of paid PvE missions to the table, they largely came and went, leading Blizzard to announce the discontinuation of all future PvE content in Overwatch 2 shortly thereafter. Now, the only PvE action Overwatch 2 players have to look forward to comes around only once a year in the form of Halloween Terror, which contains the popular Junkenstein’s Revenge modes.
It seems hope for PvE game modes in Overwatch 2 has begun cropping up once more as Blizzard has made a key rehire. Jorge Murillo, the former lead on Overwatch 2‘s Invasion PvE missions, has updated his Twitter bio, indicating that he’s been rehired by Blizzard to once again work on Overwatch 2 as a senior level designer. Murillo was let go from Blizzard in January of this year and joined Frost Giant Studios as a level designer on the real-time-strategy game Stormgate before this recent rehire by Blizzard.
Overwatch 2's Former PvE Lead Has Been Rehired
Murillo’s return to Blizzard has seemingly sparked some conversation among Overwatch 2 players who are hopeful once more about new PvE modes in the popular hero shooter. While such hope does make sense, Murillo’s prior Overwatch resume is dotted with some PvP experience as well, indicating that he didn’t exclusively work on PvE missions. With that said, Murillo could’ve been brought back to help design new PvP maps. Even if Blizzard is in fact planning on making more PvE missions with Murillo’s help, it’s doubtful that what was once promised in the lead-up to Overwatch 2 will ever come to fruition. Blizzard may just be looking to expand its suite of returning limited-time-event PvE modes like Junkenstein’s Revenge.
If there are indeed more PvE missions in Overwatch 2‘s future, they’re likely a while away. In the meantime, Overwatch 2‘s Avatar: The Last Airbender event is scheduled to end on the last day of the year, December 31, and players will have until January 6 to get their fill of Winter Wonderland, the same day 6v6 is expected to expire. As for Season 14, it’s expected to run for another whole month after that, ending in early February.
