Blizzard has announced a new Overwatch event called “Archives”.
With “Overwatch 2” close on the horizon, it’s not a shock to most that the original isn’t seeing as many updates as it did in its opening years. Overwatch was known for its constant upgrades and its events, which would change the theme of the game based on the holiday it was associated with.
The “Archives” event runs between March 12’th and April 3’rd, changing the game’s’ solely PvP experience into a PvE one. The event offers small side stories where a team of four players can face off against some A.I enemies like robots or grunt soldiers.
Previous years have seen the event bring a new mini-campaign but for this year it seems like the event is only letting players replay the three campaigns from the last three years. While new items are still available, giving a plethora of new skins, voice lines, and highlight intros to add some aesthetic flavor to the Overwatch roster.
Archive declassification complete.
Overwatch Archives file status: LIVE.
⏰📂 https://t.co/du08PhhIPT pic.twitter.com/W4BN59byPC
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 12, 2020
While this doesn’t come as a surprise, as game director Jeff Kaplan had already made this clear during the Overwatch 2 reveal, it is a still bit of bummer for me, considering that the “Archives” event was usually the one that got me the most excited. Though the event has had some modifications, such as two challenge modes for each of the three stories. With the “Molten Core” modifier making enemies spill lava upon death and the “Glass Cannon” that increases both damage dealt and halves your health.
Currently, these two challenge modes are limited to the first mission, “Uprising”. However, with each passing week, new challenges will be added to the other two missions. With March 17’th bringing a “Close Quarters” and “Surgical Strike” challenge for the “Retribution” storyline. Finally wrapping up with some extra challenges for last year’s “Storm Rising” event.
The other kicker is that now players can utilize Overwatch’s newer heroes in these events, though the output of these characters has also certainly slowed down. With the last hero “Sigma” being released almost a year ago.
At the very least, for those who are interested in more missions, Overwatch 2 is going to provide all of the PvE content they could ask for. Though with the recent loss of Overwatch lead writer Michael Chu, it’s difficult to say if the plotline will remain the same.