Despite the memes and controversy around Overwatch 2, the FPS experience is still unique and colorful. The cast sparks with personality, the gameplay the grasps at your immersion, and the team play encourages for an experience that’s beyond any other. This is where an Overwatch battle royale could fill in the gaps and deliver a totally seamless yet extended experience.
Beyond the controversies behind failed content and Blizzard’s poor leadership, the same 2016 Game of the Year winner thrives at its core, and even better with an expanded cast of Heroes and modes now.
But then, how can it revolutionize the First-Person Shooter (FPS) world all over again? By playing into the current shooter craze for Battle Royales.
Now, here me out. I’m not even a fan of Battle Royale games. I find them too simple and repetitive, and that’s the reason why I love Overwatch – it’s always refreshing because of its unique 38 cast of Heroes.
That’s exactly what an Overwatch Battle Royale must lean into – its diverse cast of Heroes. And while we’re far away from what an Overwatch Battle Royale may look like, due to the cancelation of the Talents system, Hero Progression skill trees, and the immersive PvE experience, all that is still possible one day. If Overwatch wants to thrive and stay relevant, it should play into its strengths, the Heroes, but also work itself into today’s ever-evolving and growing shooter market.
How will Overwatch work as a Battle Royale?
You may be wondering how Overwatch, a game built around Heroes, could ever work as a Battle Royale? But in my opinion, the foundations have already been laid down.
Earlier in 2023, the Battle for Olympus expressed what an Overwatch Battle Royale could look like, but it was only a prototype.
An Overwatch Battle Royale would revolve around a unique progression around each Overwatch Hero.
It would be a blend of the Talents and progression system we lost, but it would implement itself back in by giving each run a more rogue-like element, akin to Risk of Rain 2 or League of Legends type MOBA level up system within the round.
Of course, it can simply play into a Fortnite, Apex: Legends, or Call of Duty: Warzone type experience, but that would be too safe for Overwatch. Overwatch’s strengths lie upon it’s cast of unique Heroes, and giving players the abilities to transform and upgrade their Heroes upon each playthrough would be an amazing experience.
Imagine being able to construct Hades or Diablo-esque builds for each Hero, and pitting them against one another. This would be a lot of work, and they may need an entirely new team just for Battle Royale and Talents, but it would pay off for the fans and industry in the long run.
What Kind of Gameplay Loop can Overwatch Battle Royale expect?
Overwatch’s battle royale would revolve around the idea of spawning as a base Hero, and then upgrading the character through different Talents. These talents can range from damage amplifications, such as multiple Hanzo arrows or vertical Tracer Blinks, to totally new abilities such as Reaper playing into his gaseous form more or giving Mauga igniting enemies on fire as he runs through them.
This would be a wholly different experience to competitors where the gun play and character would be detached. In Overwatch’s battle royale, you’d be locked into the Hero itself and evolve that, so it means you’d need more mastery over a certain fixed playstyle, so that would even play into more Hades or Risk of Rain 2 playstyles and then using RNG to make the game varied.
For a team oriented game with a role lock, Overwatch can use The Final’s 3v3v3v3 tournament mode mechanic too. This way, we can get teams of one role each, Support, Damage, and Tank respectively for a more balanced team experience. But it does not need to start with any such restrictions, just to test waters. We all want to relive those games with 10 Winston and 2 Lucio Heroes, right? Well, just for a little bit of chaos.
New ways to use PvE
The added benefit of such a mode would be that they can use pre-existing PvE elements to keep each match engaging with PvE encounters along with the common PvP battle royale extravaganza of becoming the sole winner.
To make it more complex, perhaps PvE bosses give certain currency to unlock new Ultimate addition or totally new variations.
Of course, a battle royale map is quite extensive, especially for Overwatch which hopes to use map geometry to give better access to its heroes. So it’s a hard ask to get something that would work but the Flashpoint maps are an interesting glimpse towards what it could be, along with the longer PvE maps. Perhaps if some maps were merged, like New Junk City and Junkertown, we could get an interesting battle royale arena.
Is Such an Overwatch Mode too Large of an Ask?
Well, the easy answer is… obviously, yes. But if Overwatch wants to evolve as a game and be a home for as many players as possible while reinventing itself and being the same breath of fresh air as it once was in 2016 and 2017, a battle royale experience seems the obvious way to go.
Personally, I’m not a fan of battle royales, but neither was I a big fan of shooters until Overwatch. And the market love such game modes at the moment, but the beauty if that battle royale would just be one way to play Overwatch, while still catering to the PvE and talents system we lost.
It can start slow, and only have 2 to 3 Heroes per role. Adding new abilities and styles over time. But the absolute best way to do a battle royale is to work on a mainstay arcade mode.
Currently, the Overwatch teams tries a smaller yet easily forgettable seasonal mode every few weeks to a month. And while it may have some spark, there’s just no reason to play, and it just feels like a waste for the dev team.
Having a core, replayable mode which starts of simple and evolves over time is the definitive way to go, as if they want seasons to feel special then they can make changes to the map or mode itself.
Overwatch Battle Royale Retrospect
Yes, this is a hard ask, and maybe even a silly pipe dream, but if done well, the idea seems too good. There’s a Blizzard charm and polish, only they can bring, but if their focus wasn’t wringing out as much cash from its players and focusing on evolving and expanding the Overwatch experience, they can do a lot more.
Now that Microsoft finally has the reigns to Overwatch, they should invest in the Hero shooters as their new shiny, online toy. Overwatch is the game that Halo could never be for them, but where Overwatch truly differs is in its world building and character fantasy. The public loves Overwatch for the identity and Heroes it fosters, and it only makes sense to use that as a unique draw to expand in each area whether new games modes, tournament and guild settings, a proper e-sport, TV shows, or other spin of single player games.
If you enjoyed our idea on Overwatch getting a battle royale, do check out our most anticipated releases of 2024 or our Alan Wake 2 review!