[2023] What’s Next | Overwatch 2 | BlizzCon 2023 | Overwatch Dev Tracker

Transcript (by Youtube)

0s	good afternoon everybody our next panel
2s	presentation will give you a glimpse
4s	into the future here's OverWatch what's
12s	[Applause]
13s	[Music]
22s	next hello Bliss
24s	con it's hard to believe that we're
27s	already more than halfway through Bliss
30s	con is an event that I wish could last
32s	the whole week during yesterday's
35s	opening ceremony Aaron showed off a few
37s	things the team is working
40s	on it feels great being up here with
43s	these brilliant people working on all of
46s	the Fantastic things coming soon to
48s	OverWatch
50s	too I'd like to kick things off this
52s	session with a quick
54s	intro I've been OverWatch franchise GM
57s	since November
59s	2021 while I spent most of my first year
63s	as executive producer of OverWatch 2 I'm
66s	now focused on Guiding OverWatch at the
68s	franchise
70s	level way back in
73s	2013 and early in my blizzard career the
76s	company made the decision to move
78s	forward with a project code named
82s	Prometheus I remember sitting in the
84s	room that day and seeing the look of
87s	wonder in the eyes of everyone around
89s	the table
91s	it wasn't about numbers or Dev
93s	schedules no the Magic in the room was
97s	created by imagination imagination of
100s	the adventures to come in the OverWatch
103s	Universe I had a similar feeling again
106s	at biscon in
108s	2014 I sat in the crowd at opening
110s	ceremony and I literally held my breath
114s	as the announcement of OverWatch
116s	approached and uh as that OverWatch logo
119s	came up at the end of the first ever
122s	cinematic the love in the hall felt as
125s	close to tangible as I've ever
129s	experienced since then we've shared
131s	OverWatch as team based PVP in the
135s	original game and now in OverWatch 2 and
138s	we also shared stories about our heroes
141s	in our cinematic pieces comics and short
145s	stories but there are more stories to
147s	tell and brand new experiences big and
151s	small to share in the
153s	future as GM I'm leading the exploration
157s	to push the frontiers of OverWatch and
160s	to reach
161s	Beyond but today we're very excited to
164s	talk about the cool things coming to
166s	OverWatch 2 we're going to show you
168s	stuff that's very much work in progress
172s	and perhaps tell you things that would
173s	make marketing
175s	nervous but we really want to give you
177s	as much visibility as we can into the
179s	future of the
181s	game before I hand it off to my
183s	teammates I have some high level context
186s	on where we're taking OverWatch 2 and
188s	our goals for the next
191s	year we're focused on giving the
193s	millions of players in our game each day
196s	the very best PVP experience we
199s	can while we'll be mixing in PVE events
203s	and modes and progressing
205s	storytelling our main goal for OverWatch
207s	2 is striving to make PVP gaml more
211s	rewarding and more fun for today Our
215s	intention is to focus primarily on how
218s	we are aiming to improve those elements
220s	of the game that we know are important
223s	to so many of
224s	you to go through it all we have members
227s	of our Fantastic Team here I'd like to
229s	hand it off to game director Aaron
231s	Keller to introduce them thank
236s	you thank you
238s	Walter and hello
241s	BlizzCon um yeah so we are excited to
246s	share as many of the exciting things
248s	that uh our team has been working on as
251s	we can um I'm Aaron and I am joined by
255s	our lead character concept artist Daryl
260s	tan game producer Monica
265s	Lee associate art director Peter Lee
269s	hello
270s	and Senior system designer Gavin
274s	winter okay so let's kick things off and
278s	get into it Peter can you tell talk to
281s	us about Clash all right hello biscon I
288s	wish I wish I have a you know Chris
290s	meton voice what up
293s	blon Focus all
296s	right as you can see I am super excited
299s	to be here and share some of the content
302s	that we prepared U especially for uh
305s	Clash map um so before I jump in uh let
308s	me share a cool video with you guys um
312s	so can we play the
315s	video all right is this map looks
319s	familiar to
323s	everyone cool uh yeah hanamura is one of
326s	my favorite map um like you know we'll
329s	talk more about about that but uh you
331s	know before I jump in um everything we
333s	are going to see today is you know very
336s	work in progress and as a matter of fact
339s	like we were making a lot of changes
341s	even this week also so uh please you
344s	know look at this uh you know
345s	screenshots and videos and Concepts uh
347s	you know as that uh you know inside of
351s	your mind um you know that big building
353s	in the back looks pretty familiar too I
357s	I I think that looks awesome
361s	and we'll talk more about that um yeah
364s	so our uh original 2cp Maps were
369s	absolutely gorgeous um however due to
372s	challenges we had with the two mode uh
375s	you know we had to remove some of those
378s	iconic Maps um you know from our
380s	rotation including
382s	hanamura um they're beautiful like a
386s	lots of beautiful maps in our game of
388s	you know yet Han in particular has a
392s	special place in our hearts for uh you
394s	know many reasons um Let me let me share
398s	my story um you know when you are trying
400s	to create a world that no one has seen
404s	before you know there's a little bit of
407s	you know uncertainty and a lot of
409s	question as you can imagine like am I
412s	doing it right what is the world that we
415s	are trying to build
418s	Aaron um
420s	and and as what Chris madon you know
423s	mentioned yesterday um sometimes very
427s	epic thing um you I can't start with a
432s	small
433s	heart felt yeah H SP moment and uh you
439s	know this is you know the perfect
440s	example I still remember the day that I
444s	created this concept um you know I was
447s	walking down the back alley of uh you
449s	know the Japan Street with the you know
452s	the Google Map and I got obsessed about
456s	a small mom and pop store and I loved it
460s	and I was thinking yes let's expand this
464s	world with our lands it was a magical
468s	moment that I cannot
470s	forget just like that haramura was one
473s	of the first location that really made a
477s	team Feel This Is It this this is
481s	OverWatch yes we can build this world
485s	our vision of this universe instantly
488s	became uh clear so um after we retired
492s	some of those iconic Maps uh you know we
495s	have wanted to find a way to bring them
498s	back because hanamura is loved and known
502s	to our players and to our characters um
506s	also there were so many stories that we
509s	had developed around this city right so
514s	um you know now with this new Clash mode
517s	uh it was our perfect opportunity to
519s	bring uh you know our hanamura back uh
523s	however the big question was uh how can
527s	we do this without making it feel
530s	artificial um you know considering we
532s	did not want to remove the original
535s	location from our game instead like we
539s	wanted to to expand the world because
543s	identity is so important in our game um
546s	so we made a new section of
550s	hanamura a street right next to the
553s	original map and we named our map hanoka
557s	meaning Flower Hill you know you can
561s	picture the image
562s	right um when you play this map uh you
566s	know you can't even see some section of
569s	the or hanamura uh you know the map in
571s	the backdrop uh as you can see in this
575s	screenshot you know there is a famous
578s	Ricky Maru ramian shop um and you know
581s	you can see the gate right behind it
585s	right we all know what that gate is
588s	that's famous choke point
590s	yeah yeah so uh you know uh when you
596s	play this in a game like you should be
597s	able to tell where you are
600s	roughly um and uh during this process we
604s	also made a few new assets that can hint
608s	at the stories of uh you know shimata
611s	Clan and Hashimoto Clan uh also kir the
615s	Yokai group uh and many others so as an
619s	example uh you know what you're seeing
621s	on the screen uh the tiger represent you
624s	know hash Moro Clan and the dragon
627s	represent the Shar clan in our story
630s	um so we you know we created this a new
633s	wall painting So subtly melting the
636s	story into our uh
639s	environment I don't know if you can feel
641s	it but uh you know every step and
643s	decision we made for this hanoka map was
647s	pretty exciting personally as a fanboy
651s	and I hope this map also makes you
654s	excited as well yeah that joy that
658s	uh
664s	that joy that Peter and his team have
665s	put into the hannaha map really is
668s	infectious and we're very excited for
671s	players that loved hanamura to
673s	re-experience it and for players that
675s	are knew to feel that Wonder for the
677s	first
678s	time all of our maps are these beautiful
681s	works and Hannah Oka pushes that even
685s	further thanks Peter thank
688s	you
692s	yeah so clash it's the third new game
696s	mode that we've made for for OverWatch 2
698s	the third new game mode we've made for
700s	all of OverWatch after push and flasho I
702s	think it's probably important to go into
704s	a bit of why we even make new game modes
707s	for OverWatch we we think it's really
709s	important to always be developing new
711s	maps and we we put out um several of
714s	them every year but each time we do it
717s	when we build a map for a a known game
720s	mode one that we already have we can
722s	only make so many changes to that map um
725s	like an escort map it it's always going
728s	to have three sections and we use um
731s	really hard Corners in those to provide
733s	choke points um um for for the um for
736s	the offense to get through um we try to
740s	provide as much Variety in those but we
742s	really can't make something completely
744s	different until we start working on an
748s	entirely new type of objective entirely
750s	new types of game modes like if you look
752s	at something like one of our escort Maps
755s	like Dorado and then you compare that to
757s	something like our flasho map like
760s	surasa you can see those are very
763s	different levels and they provide
766s	different um a different type of
768s	gameplay experience too there's there's
770s	different strategies when you play on
772s	different types of game modes there's
774s	different Heroes and team compositions
776s	that you might want to pick so we think
778s	it's really important for us to continue
780s	to do that um I don't know like um how
784s	long we'll continually make like a new
787s	game mode every year um but we're not at
790s	the point where we think we ought to
791s	stop yet um and so let's let's talk a
794s	little bit about um the history of of
798s	clash and the history of 5cp because
800s	Clash has five control points laid out
802s	in a row this is not the first time the
805s	OverWatch team um has tried to make a
808s	5cp MCH we originally started making it
811s	for volskaya um volskaya heavy industry
815s	started as a 5cp map our early
817s	prototypes um were of that and we had
820s	like five control points laid out in a
823s	row and originally we called it iron
825s	star these images right here um were
828s	were pieces that Peter did um a long
831s	time ago as we were working on iron star
834s	and I think you did these when we were
836s	on Project Titan before OverWatch right
839s	mhm mhm yeah how old are these images do
842s	you think I don't exactly recall but I
846s	like it it looks
847s	cool like maybe 2010 or something like
851s	that and so we even had um five CP maps
854s	on Project Titan that we were doing um
857s	and we even had a variant of it that was
859s	um a 3cp map U and when you look at 3cp
863s	where there's like a point in the middle
865s	and one on each side it's almost like a
867s	symmetrical version of assault or what
871s	the community would call 2cp for
873s	OverWatch um I'm assuming most of you
875s	know what it is if you're new to to
878s	OverWatch 2 and didn't play the original
880s	game 2cp was a game mode where there was
883s	an offense and a defense and the offense
885s	would try to capture two control points
887s	in a row um and we had a lot of issues
891s	with 2cp um that we were never really
894s	able to solve um and the two biggest
896s	ones they're related to each other um
899s	the offense um sometimes would just get
902s	stalled out at the first choke point in
904s	an assault map and the way those Maps
905s	were designed because there was only two
907s	objectives we really favored the defense
910s	from a level design point of view but
912s	sometimes the offense would make no
914s	progress in the map time would run out
916s	they would lose it felt like the match
918s	had like no story to it almost like
921s	nothing even happened over the course of
923s	that game and on the other side
925s	sometimes because OverWatch can be a
927s	game that snowballs a bit the offense
929s	would get an early pick they'd win a
931s	team fight instantly take the first
934s	point they'd all have their SS run to
936s	point um to point B um Wipe Out the
939s	enemy team and then like win the whole
941s	game or the round if it was competitive
943s	and they could do all of this in under a
945s	minute 30 seconds sometimes yeah in 30
948s	seconds in like the most extreme
949s	examples and it just felt like on the
951s	defense you had like no opportunity to
955s	respond to that like the answer was like
957s	you shouldn't have one person die very
959s	early in the match you know and it's
960s	like it just it didn't work so we spent
962s	months and months trying to fix it and
964s	we never were really able to come up
966s	with something that worked that didn't
968s	require us to completely rebuild some of
971s	those Maps one of the things we did try
973s	was we like greatly expanded the cap
975s	time um for those control points it's
977s	like over a minute to take them some of
979s	the time um and um there is some promise
983s	there was a lot of fun but the way those
985s	maps are built defending a point from
988s	the defense
989s	never really worked the map geometry um
993s	didn't didn't really like let that
995s	happen in like a fluid way but we kind
997s	of always kept that in the back of our
998s	mind so when we started to develop Clash
1002s	we we thought of some of those
1003s	experiments because we knew the
1005s	community um had a love for for assault
1009s	a love for
1010s	2cp um because when it played right it
1013s	was pretty amazing like I really loved
1015s	assault um and so we started thinking of
1019s	a version of it um or it maybe it's not
1021s	a successor but at least some of the
1023s	mechanics were inspired by 2cp and so we
1026s	started working on Clash um and so let's
1029s	like I can I can get into a bit of the
1031s	rules and the way Clash Works um that I
1034s	guess was the Preamble for the way um
1036s	Clash Works um I was a history major I
1040s	always like go into the past before I
1042s	get to the Future sorry um so yeah so
1045s	there are five control points um and in
1048s	at the start of the game each team owns
1050s	the two control points that are closest
1052s	to their side of the map and the middle
1055s	point is the neutral control Point
1057s	that's the one that both teams are going
1059s	to fight over um for all the people here
1061s	at BlizzCon you can think of it as
1064s	BlizzCon Point C is the OverWatch World
1067s	Cup the arena over here is point a and
1069s	the warcraft section is point e all the
1072s	way down at the at the other end of the
1074s	Halls um so um the the center control
1078s	point is is going going to unlock and
1080s	both teams fight over that when one team
1082s	captures that the um a new control point
1086s	is going to unlock in the direction that
1088s	the offense is moving if you've played
1091s	other multiplayer games with 5 CP
1094s	typically those have two control points
1096s	active at any time um we don't do it
1099s	here um we just have one at a time every
1102s	time we've tried to make more than one
1105s	objective active for OverWatch the game
1108s	just doesn't work the same as it does
1110s	like some of the magic is gone um the
1114s	the ma like the magic of OverWatch is
1116s	two teams working together for a common
1118s	objective and the heroes um sort of like
1121s	relying on each other to do that um so
1124s	the in this example um Point D would
1126s	unlock um if um Team One were to take
1130s	Point D they would um then point e would
1133s	unlock and if they were to actually go
1135s	all the way through and capture Point e
1138s	um then team one would win um it doesn't
1141s	happen that often it's it's very
1143s	defensive favor at that point it even
1145s	takes longer um to capture um as as the
1148s	offense um and so typically this match
1151s	starts moving back and forth and the
1154s	offense um will push a certain a certain
1156s	distance and then they won't take the
1158s	next point the defense will take it and
1160s	then the defense starts moving so it
1162s	almost feels a little bit like 2 CP but
1164s	you're moving back and forth across the
1166s	map um each of these um points say when
1169s	you take one your team will score a
1171s	point so we do have a maximum score in
1173s	there um sometimes 5cp can devolve into
1176s	these hourlong matches where nobody's
1179s	able to push all the way through um
1181s	that's our early out in this phase where
1183s	you get to a certain score we're still
1184s	tuning that right now but you'll hit a
1186s	certain score and then your team will
1188s	also win right there Aaron would you say
1190s	it's our sweatiest game mode yet some
1192s	people on the team say that this is like
1195s	the sweatiest version of OverWatch cuz
1197s	you do move back and forth a lot you
1200s	have a lot of moments where um there
1202s	there's a lot less chokes in a map like
1204s	this we don't have the same sort of
1206s	chokes that 2cp did so there's a lot of
1209s	free movement back and forth and there's
1210s	a lot of cool strategies you can have
1212s	you know you're going to take a point
1214s	sometimes and you start pushing your
1216s	team forward to start just getting a
1218s	positional advantage on the next one it
1220s	could be really fun yeah something I
1222s	really like about you know this process
1224s	that you know we were um you know
1226s	developing this game um like not like
1229s	you know we wait a long time before we
1232s	uh you know finalize anything and like
1234s	we were just like quickly building it
1236s	and blocking it out and put it in the
1238s	game and test it and get the fitback and
1240s	fix it and put it rep put it in the game
1243s	so you know that kind of uh uh uh uh you
1245s	know collaboration you know between our
1247s	team members was very meaningful and in
1250s	a way you know very similar to uh this
1254s	the fast sweetest game mode uh you know
1257s	the fastpac you know the game mode it's
1260s	like really interesting to think about
1262s	like the team really came together for
1263s	this our our team has grown a lot over
1266s	the years we have a lot of new people on
1268s	the OverWatch team and this is the first
1270s	time that we've actually created a new
1272s	game mode from scratch with all new
1274s	people on the team Gavin winter was a
1277s	part of it um the Le level designer on
1279s	it Morton um he wasn't on the original
1282s	OverWatch and so these people like
1284s	really came together and it's like this
1285s	new team this new group of people that
1287s	were able to pull this off I'm like so
1289s	proud of all of them um to be able to do
1291s	something like
1294s	this okay um so that's Clash um and
1299s	we're going to talk a lot more about PVP
1302s	changes coming to the game and heroes
1304s	but before we get into that Monica can
1306s	you get into some of the PVE updates
1308s	that are coming yeah super excited to be
1311s	here chatting with you guys um you know
1313s	PB encompasses so many different things
1315s	and we are working on some really fun
1317s	stuff for next year uh for most of it we
1320s	don't have any specifics that we can
1321s	share just yet uh I know I'm a monster
1324s	I'm sorry uh but it's it's really
1326s	awesome to see how invested people are
1328s	and what's going to happen with the
1329s	OverWatch story uh both Canon and
1331s	non-canon with the heroes and the
1333s	universe uh the team has received some
1335s	really great feedback from players that
1337s	we're going through and we're using all
1339s	of that to inform how we develop all of
1340s	the cool stuff coming next uh but for
1343s	right now I'm really excited to share
1345s	some major updates coming in season 8
1347s	for hero mastery
1349s	the thing that I really love about
1350s	OverWatch is that it isn't just one
1352s	thing there is something for everyone
1354s	for folks that wanted a solo Challenge
1356s	and leaderboard experience we introduced
1358s	hero Mastery this past September it's
1361s	been so much fun for us to see players
1363s	in the courses trying to top their
1364s	previous scores and get better so we're
1366s	really excited to expand the roster of
1368s	playable Heroes the scores go to the
1370s	100th of a second now it's too
1373s	op coming in season 8 we'll have five
1376s	new Heroes joining hero mastery
1379s	those will be Diva Eko Genji Lucio and
1385s	[Applause]
1388s	may plus we're also excited to have
1391s	leaderboard resets go live with this
1393s	update and we'll also be introducing
1395s	replay bookmarks so you could rewatch
1397s	parts of your gameplay and look for
1398s	areas to improve your score I really
1401s	enjoyed you a her Mastery uh you
1403s	personally uh you know as of being you
1405s	know support main I don't supp support
1408s	main
1408s	[Laughter]
1412s	um yeah as of being you know support
1413s	main you I don't get to play the tank
1416s	too much like I wanted to uh you know
1418s	expand my uh you know hero roster um but
1422s	uh you know I didn't have a proper
1424s	introduction to you know that role so
1426s	hero Mastery was you know the perfect
1428s	opportunity for me to jump in um and you
1431s	know like practice my skill and
1434s	especially you know when I was you know
1436s	doing that with r art like like it was
1439s	such a great moment for you know for me
1442s	to learn the like a control of you know
1445s	charge when to charge went how to stop
1447s	like how early should I stop so that was
1450s	just you know the very fun moment you
1452s	know that I had with a hero Mastery are
1455s	you at top 500 Reinhardt now getting
1458s	close close
1460s	soon keeping with the philosophy of
1462s	having something for everyone uh we
1464s	don't want to limit the Hero Mass year
1465s	experience for folks who want to play
1467s	with their friends or maybe meet new
1468s	ones in game for me OverWatch has been a
1471s	social game and we're really looking
1472s	forward to bringing that into hero
1474s	Mastery next year with hero Mastery
1478s	Gauntlet uh this new three-player co-op
1480s	mode uh features the hero Mastery art
1482s	kit Bots and all new gameplay that is
1485s	focused on enemy waves and Tower Defense
1487s	we have some work in progress footage up
1489s	here where you could see the three
1491s	Gauntlet Towers which are our objective
1493s	points the goal for the team is to
1495s	defend the towers from attacking Bots
1497s	there will be exploding Bots flying Bots
1500s	all sort of varieties there and it's
1502s	really fun to challenge juggling the
1504s	defense of three towers the different
1506s	kinds of bots and different ways to
1507s	power up um and so as a result you want
1510s	to make sure that you defending really
1512s	well in your Towers getting powerups in
1514s	all of them there's uh air strikes that
1517s	you could call in if you're being sworn
1518s	by Bots or you can generate healing for
1520s	the entire team this this is awesome as
1524s	I just shared like I had a lot of fun
1526s	with the hero Mastery right um but like
1528s	now you can play Hero Mastery plus I'm a
1532s	big fan of like a tower defense mode and
1536s	like you can do that with your friends
1538s	yeah I there's leaderboards for this too
1540s	so like it's there's going to be like a
1543s	crazy race when this one comes out and
1545s	it's really really hard too is a great
1547s	thing yeah I I played it recently and my
1550s	uh two my Towers just went down
1552s	immediately um got to practice some more
1555s	I had a really funny moment on Monday we
1556s	were doing a stream on J 3 stream and
1559s	someone in the chat asked um would we
1561s	ever do a tower defense mode and I said
1562s	that is very interesting interesting you
1564s	ask
1566s	that when Gauntlet ships uh we're going
1568s	to have Heroes rotate seasonally and
1570s	we're also going to have new custom
1571s	rewards from challenges we really want
1574s	each game to feel highly replayable and
1576s	really unique so we're really excited
1577s	for you all to jump into Gauntlet with
1579s	your friends next
1585s	year it's going to be super super fun
1589s	Okay so we've heard um just a little bit
1592s	of feedback on our competitive System
1594s	since we did a rework last year um and
1597s	we've we've listened to all of it it's
1600s	it's important for us to to to hear what
1603s	you all have to say so um we've been
1605s	hard at work on a pretty big overhaul to
1608s	it um and Gavin um is here to to talk us
1612s	through it thanks Aaron um first I want
1614s	to tell you about our approach to
1616s	improving competitive play so um as most
1619s	of you know we have some big problems to
1620s	solve uh we're not transparent about how
1623s	we construct our matches how your rank
1625s	is determined or how our rewards
1627s	function um most of you have all the
1630s	golden weapons you'd ever want so giving
1632s	you competitive points doesn't feel
1633s	great um and since we launched OverWatch
1636s	2 we've had issues with the way players
1638s	are distributed at our highest and
1640s	lowest ranks but thankfully though these
1643s	problems uh make our goals pretty
1644s	straightforward we need to put more
1646s	feedback in the game about every aspect
1648s	of competitive that we can we need new
1651s	rewards and imp improved Clarity around
1654s	how to get them and we need to address
1656s	the pain points things like how bad it
1658s	feels to be on a law
1660s	streak yeah so yeah it's
1665s	yeah we've heard that a lot we've
1668s	definitely heard that a lot it's doesn't
1671s	feel good to have 14 losses in no no so
1674s	in season 9 we're introducing a variety
1677s	of changes to competitive play uh first
1679s	we're removing the requirement to get
1681s	five wins or 15 losses to get a
1682s	competitive update um
1686s	yeah
1688s	um so you know law streaks would
1691s	guarantee that you were going to rank
1692s	down so what's the incentive to keep
1694s	playing if you're on one um in its place
1697s	we're adding a new page that makes your
1699s	rank more transparent than
1701s	ever let's go we call this the
1705s	competitive overview with this new
1707s	system your rank will update after every
1709s	match win or loss the progress bar at
1712s	the bottom shows exactly how much your
1714s	rank increased after this win you can
1716s	see that ranking up to Plat five is on
1718s	the right and ranking down to gold two
1720s	is on the left and when you hit that so
1722s	when you win a game and it hits and it
1725s	it hits plat five you immediately rank
1727s	up to Plat five you're not waiting extra
1730s	games to do something like that it just
1732s	happens yeah um
1736s	yeah
1739s	so we call those green arrows below that
1742s	progress bar rank modifiers they show
1745s	why your rank Chang the way it did so
1748s	since we want to be as precise as
1749s	possible um so these are explained in
1752s	detail by the information button on this
1753s	page but an example here is streak uh
1757s	this one means you ranked up even more
1759s	because you're on a wi
1760s	streak um we'll talk about that smaller
1763s	progress bar in the top right in a
1764s	moment but as you can see at the bottom
1766s	we've also added a link that takes you
1768s	straight to the final scoreboard yeah
1770s	and there's um there's also a rank
1772s	progress um it might be hard to read
1774s	it's a little bit small on the screen
1776s	but it's right above that bar right
1778s	there and right now it says your rank
1779s	progress It's 85% so you can see your
1782s	exactly 85% of the way to the next rank
1787s	um there's there's a lot of people um
1789s	when we get feedback a lot of people
1790s	were asking us to bring Sr back it was
1793s	it was the system that we had on
1794s	OverWatch one um and we did have have a
1798s	few issues with Sr and um maybe like two
1802s	of the biggest ones or one it it was a
1804s	very arbitrary number to just say you
1806s	were
1808s	2374 arbitrary 2374 everybody knows
1811s	about 2374 and it does like we recognize
1814s	it it does take on meaning after a while
1816s	for people that are playing with it what
1818s	we're hoping here is that you're gold
1820s	one and you're 85 you're you're 85% of
1823s	the way through gold one and that that
1826s	actually has more more meaning for the
1828s	vast majority of players um and also at
1831s	the same time the the difference between
1834s	a gold three and a gold four sometimes
1837s	is just it's like less than four WIS
1840s	away from each other and so that that
1842s	wasn't necessarily conveyed very well
1845s	through the SR system we we really like
1848s	having these divisions in there and we
1850s	really want people to know precisely
1851s	where they are in that Division and so
1854s	that's that's the reason we went this
1855s	way
1856s	obviously we listen to feedback you know
1860s	like um the system can can evolve over
1863s	time but this is this is where it's at
1864s	right now yeah thanks
1866s	yeah
1870s	um yeah so uh when we launch season 9
1873s	we'll also be resetting ranks and
1875s	bringing placements back to OverWatch 2
1878s	so this isn't a full MMR reset but it
1882s	will give you a chance to make a big
1883s	change to your rank uh because your
1885s	placements game games will count for a
1887s	lot more
1888s	we want to do that every year along with
1890s	some big changes to our systems and
1892s	herob balance we want to give everyone a
1895s	chance to earn a new rank because we'll
1897s	also be redistributing players at all
1900s	ranks those of you in bronze five silver
1903s	5 and silver 4 know how hard it can be
1905s	to rank up in our current system and we
1907s	can fix that with the redistribution
1909s	those of you in Grandmaster one also
1911s	know that we have more Grand Masters uh
1914s	than we ever did in OverWatch one so as
1917s	part of this redistribution we're also
1919s	adding a new rank above grandmas called
1923s	ultimate we want to update our
1925s	competitive rewards every year
1927s	too so in season 9 we'll be adding
1930s	Emerald weapons um now this Art's not
1933s	final uh but hopefully it gives you an
1934s	idea of the types of rewards we want to
1936s	add each new year I need those Emerald
1939s	zenyata balls they look so cool me too
1942s	God um so when we add Emerald weapons
1944s	we'll convert all of our current
1946s	competitive points into a leg currency
1948s	that you can still spend on Golden
1949s	Weapons if you want but to show these
1952s	off you'll need to earn competitive
1954s	points in the new season yeah and I
1955s	think what's like really exciting about
1957s	this I I I love the new redesign but
1960s	there is this annual Cadence that we are
1962s	trying to bring into the competitive
1964s	side in OverWatch and I know when we
1966s	first launched over Overwatch 2 the
1968s	seasonal reset in placement was was very
1972s	controversial um but this is going along
1974s	with a whole set of of additional re
1977s	Awards a redistribution of players
1980s	across the ranks and we think that that
1982s	initial set of placements now is is
1985s	worth it to get everything else that
1986s	we've got and it's also like a really
1987s	exciting moment for players to look
1990s	forward to um on an annual basis yeah
1992s	every two months was probably way too
1994s	often yeah so um going back to solving
1997s	our problems um we know that the
1999s	competitive challenges page was really
2001s	confusing um and that was the only place
2003s	to see how to earn our rewards so we're
2006s	removing competitive challenges building
2007s	a new page to show progress towards
2010s	seasonal
2012s	rewards we think this page is a much
2014s	cleaner way to show rewards and the
2016s	requirements to get them you may have
2018s	also noticed that smaller progress bar
2020s	in the top right again instead of our
2022s	old end of season challenges that
2024s	rewarded competitive points based on
2025s	your final rank wins and losses both
2028s	progress you toward big payouts of
2030s	competitive points uh but just like our
2032s	current weekly challenges wins Grant a
2035s	lot of bonus
2036s	progress and um another small
2038s	Improvement we're going to make is
2040s	showing the range of ranks in the match
2042s	instead of just the average you can see
2044s	that in the top
2049s	left we're also planning a lot of bigger
2052s	changes after season 9 uh like with
2054s	grouping and competitive for example we
2057s	want players to be able to play with
2058s	their friends so we'll be removing most
2060s	of our current grouping
2062s	restrictions to do that though we have
2064s	to rethink how we make competitive
2066s	matches so if you're a diamond player
2068s	and you want a group with your bronze
2070s	friend we'll allow that but we'll
2072s	classify your group as a wide group
2074s	you'll only play against other wide
2077s	groups and we'll try to find groups with
2079s	a similar shape as yours um so if you're
2082s	a diamond tank and your friend is a
2084s	bronze support we'll try to find another
2086s	Diamond tank and bronze support for the
2088s	other team no promises um as you
2091s	probably guessed the existence of wide
2093s	groups also means we'll have narrow
2095s	groups and this is great as as a solo
2097s	player because you'll only ever play
2100s	with narrow groups or other solos so we
2103s	expect to see some big improvements to
2104s	match quality for solo
2110s	players I'm kind of excited because I
2113s	used to I used to play OverWatch with my
2115s	kids but they're teenagers and they just
2117s	started getting better than me um and my
2120s	my oldest ended up becoming Masters and
2123s	we couldn't even group together anymore
2124s	so now with this new system he'll have
2126s	to find another excuse to not play with
2129s	me yeah literal skill issue um another
2133s	one is this gives us fewer Smurfs um
2137s	since the only way to avoid avoid our
2138s	current grouping restrictions right now
2140s	to play with your friends is to create
2141s	new accounts so you won't need to do
2143s	that anymore
2146s	cool okay so that's um that's the update
2150s	on the the competitive system and um you
2153s	can't play comp without Heroes um and I
2157s	know we teased a few heroes in opening
2159s	ceremony yesterday um and Daryl's team
2162s	has created some amazing concept art to
2165s	show for some of those Heroes take it
2167s	away all right yeah thanks
2171s	Aaron
2175s	creating creating such a be visually
2177s	unique and beautiful game like OverWatch
2179s	2 takes a lot of time and iteration in a
2183s	malga deep dive panel yesterday the team
2185s	went through some of these processes
2187s	from coming up with a hero idea to
2189s	drawing the concept art to the modeling
2192s	then building their abilities then
2194s	actually putting it all into the game we
2196s	have a bunch of hero ideas and Concepts
2199s	always brewing and during the opening
2201s	ceremony Arantes two of these Heroes so
2203s	let's get into them next year we'll be
2206s	releasing three new Heroes a tank a
2209s	support and a damage hero internally we
2213s	are already testing all three of these
2215s	heroes in their various states and more
2217s	we're testing More Heroes more and more
2220s	always more even though they're already
2223s	undergoing testing we aren't ready to
2224s	show all three of them just yet the hero
2227s	coming in season 14 is far enough that
2230s	we're going to keep that work to
2231s	ourselves for now I have to stress that
2235s	a lot can still change this far out
2237s	including abilities and even their
2238s	in-game models uh but here is what we
2241s	can show you in season 12 the next
2244s	support hero will be released currently
2246s	known as the development team by the
2248s	code name Space Ranger she will be our
2251s	first hero in the for the Mars colony
2254s	she's so cute I love her so much thanks
2257s	Monica um we aren't quite ready to show
2260s	her in action just yet but we do have
2261s	some early concept art of what she
2263s	currently looks like yeah I won't dive
2265s	into her kit either but she's a highly
2267s	Mobile support hero who has um quite a
2270s	bit of vertical mobility to that end she
2273s	has no lack of thrusters on her suits
2276s	and all over her Bo boots as well and
2278s	when we say that things are still
2280s	changing Space Ranger is a perfect
2282s	example her gun has already changed from
2284s	what we're showing here um not only that
2287s	but as production moves along we will in
2290s	inevitably run into other elements on
2291s	her design will have to iterate on when
2294s	we fully reveal her for season 12 we can
2297s	talk about all the changes we made to
2299s	her from the early drawings that you
2301s	guys see over here to the final model
2303s	and the final Concepts so Space Ranger
2306s	likes battling her foes from Air and
2309s	Space how about a hero now that battles
2312s	from under the ground in season 10
2314s	you'll get to play as our newest damage
2316s	hero
2317s	Venture they are our second and a half
2320s	Canadian hero people often forget that
2322s	Farah is half Canadian myself included
2325s	I'm half Canadian
2327s	too the fantasy we're going for with
2330s	Venture is that of a swashbuckling
2332s	archaeologist they have an unquenchable
2334s	thirst for past treasures and hidden
2336s	secrets
2337s	and will go any which way to get to them
2339s	and for Venture that way is often down
2343s	Venture uses their powerful drill to dig
2345s	through the map um to attack the
2347s	opposing team because this drill was so
2350s	um complex in its moving pieces right um
2353s	and has a lot of cical geometry kjun
2356s	Wang our senior concept artist who
2357s	worked on Venture decided to employ 3D
2360s	modeling early in the ideation phases
2362s	even for the weapon and now I'll toss it
2364s	over to Aon to show you guys some of how
2366s	this works yeah okay so we have some
2369s	early gameplay footage of uh Venture
2371s	from a recent play test
2374s	um here we go this is the loading screen
2377s	we always do those kind of like silly
2379s	little portraits one of our artist talki
2381s	does those um before the the the they're
2384s	ready burrowing underground is kind of
2387s	amazing so they can like burst up out of
2389s	the ground um do additional damage has
2391s	vertical mobility to it they move around
2394s	the map really well this this weapon is
2396s	amazing amazing it shoots a projectile
2398s	out a set distance and it explodes right
2401s	there it's like it's really nice to be
2402s	able to hit people even around corners
2404s	with that thing when they when they duck
2406s	out of the way um the Dig also it like
2410s	the most important part of this is it it
2411s	makes you invulnerable you know so it's
2413s	like you can't be hit when you're
2415s	underground it's a great great way to
2416s	escape it's also a great way to get in
2418s	close to players um you pop up like that
2422s	um and then you have a dash as well and
2424s	so the dash you can do it in the air you
2427s	Dash underground if you want to when
2429s	you're moving um it's all it's all
2431s	around just like a really really fun kit
2434s	to use we have this um this idea or this
2438s	goal that we try to do with Heroes on
2440s	OverWatch and um I think we're able to
2442s	hit it on on DPS Heroes a little bit
2444s	more than some of the other ones but as
2446s	much as we can we just want it to be fun
2447s	to hit the buttons you know like move
2450s	around a space and just kind of have
2452s	like some Joy there and Venture I think
2454s	is is one of those Heroes um where they
2457s	just um are fun to hit the buttons with
2462s	hey Aon I you know to expand on that
2464s	point uh you know when I was a play
2465s	testing Venture i al literally you know
2468s	just kept hitting you know the button
2469s	you know to borrow in and out you know
2472s	without any reason um but you know it
2475s	was a feeling so Snappy uh you know just
2477s	a big shout out to our animation and FX
2479s	team to you know make this happen y so
2482s	this was felt
2485s	good now we um we didn't show the old
2488s	we're we're holding that till season 10
2490s	until we till we fully reveal the hero
2493s	um so there's more to
2495s	come um so um these are just some of the
2498s	things that the team is working on
2500s	there's so much more um and uh next year
2504s	you know we'll we'll like have a lot
2506s	more things to talk to you about a lot
2508s	more things to to reveal than we could
2510s	have just fit here within 45
2513s	minutes I want to say that uh improving
2516s	the overall play experience is really
2518s	important to us and this uh goes beyond
2521s	just game modes and new Heroes but also
2525s	how everyone engages with the game's
2527s	meta systems so one last thing I want to
2530s	mention that I know people are really
2532s	interested in is a set of changes and
2535s	updates to the battle
2538s	pass an initiative we're working on for
2541s	next year is a redesign of the battle
2543s	pass and we're deep in the process of
2546s	working through through this which means
2549s	we aren't ready yet to go through the
2551s	details but I want to give you a small
2553s	glimpse of what we're thinking one goal
2557s	is to offer players more agency when it
2560s	comes to the Mythic skin reward let me
2563s	talk through a couple of specific
2566s	cases players progressing through the
2568s	premium battle pass today are able to
2571s	unlock the latest Mythic skin each
2573s	season but what if you don't play the
2576s	hero with that Mythic skin it's going to
2578s	make the battle pass a little less
2580s	exciting to you in a different case you
2584s	miss the chance to get Cyber demon Genji
2587s	because you weren't around to play that
2589s	first
2590s	season what we want to do is to address
2593s	both of these scenarios by giving you
2596s	the option to earn any single Mythic
2599s	skin we've ever released when you play
2601s	through the premium battle
2605s	pass
2610s	but beyond this we're aiming to make
2613s	play in OverWatch to more rewarding with
2617s	a total set of changes to the battle
2619s	pass uh we'll have more to share on that
2622s	next
2624s	year some of what we presented may
2626s	change between now and release but we
2629s	want it to be as open as possible on
2632s	what we're developing planning or even
2634s	thinking about and uh this doesn't even
2638s	touch on the longer term franchise plan
2641s	but that's really a discussion for
2643s	another
2643s	day finally I want to say that everyone
2646s	here represents hundreds of employees on
2649s	our team who care so much about this
2652s	game and this work and we can't wait to
2654s	release it all thank you Bliss
2661s	con yeah I'll just I'll add on to that
2664s	really quick this team is made of like
2667s	so many talented amazing people and this
2670s	is just a small glimpse of everything
2672s	that we're working on um and even a
2674s	glimpse that of things that we didn't
2676s	talk about today like an image of a Peru
2679s	map that's coming in the future that we
2681s	also started this presentation off with
2683s	and um there was um I'm sure people will
2686s	talk about it online the next few days
2688s	some other Easter eggs in this
2690s	presentation that um kind of give hints
2692s	at some of the things that are coming
2694s	next year as well um so thank you
2696s	everyone so much and we'll see you on
2699s	the streets of
2700s	[Applause]
2713s	hanaoka

[2023] What’s Next | Overwatch 2 | BlizzCon 2023

Transcript (by Youtube)

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