Overwatch Details at PAX East
By Boston Blake 26 August 2014
Blizzard is one of the most well known video game development companies in the industry. Their MMO, World of Warcraft, paved the way for dozens of massive multiplayer online games – some more successful than others. It’s a company that understands its customer base and has dedicated itself to making them happy.
It’s also a company that hasn’t produced a new franchise in 17 years. Sure, they’ve developed new games and expansions, but they’ve also been playing it safe – sticking with a formula that was working very well for them. Therefore, many gamers were pleasantly surprised this past November when Blizzard announced Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer shooter game.
Since the announcement, gamers have been clamoring for more information. Luckily, they won’t have to wait much longer to get it. According to the PAX East schedule, Blizzard will be holding a panel at the conference next month to discuss Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and, yes, Overwatch. The panel will feature three speakers: Dustin Browder, Game Director for Heroes of the Storm; Eric Dodds, Game Director for Hearthstone; and Jeff Kaplan, Game Director for Overwatch.
We, along with many of you, are excited to see how the game turns out. The gameplay and art style are a step away from what we’re used to seeing from Blizzard. Not that that’s a bad thing, we’re actually excited to see something new coming from the developer. However, after watching the recent gameplay videos for Overwatch, we have to admit that while the game is a new venture for Blizzard, the gameplay and art style look an awful lot like another popular game: Team Fortress 2.
Granted, Overwatch also looks to be a good bit more involved than Team Fortress, with more characters to choose from and more ways to destroy the enemy. And even though the premise isn’t revolutionary, Blizzard’s take definitely looks fun, and we doubt Overwatch will struggle to make sales and gain players. It is, after all, a Blizzard game.
We should note that we’re basing this perspective off a few videos. We may discover the game is dramatically different than we first thought when the Blizzard panelists take the stage on March 6. We don’t yet know much will be shared at the event as the panel description is pretty vague, simply promising a discussion on “bold new heroes, exciting new cards, and epic new battlegrounds.”
Hopefully, though, we’ll get an official release date, as well as some more details about the characters and the story in the game. We’re also interested to see if the game ends up getting a new title since Blizzard’s trademark for the game’s name was recently suspended.
What do you hope to learn from Blizzard’s panel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Overwatch is set to release on PC in 2015.
Source: PAX East
