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Blizzard will show off two hours of Overwatch 2 gameplay on May 20, including a first look at changes to the game's PvP mode.
Announced by new director Aaron Keller in a short development update, the livestream will begin on May 20 at 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern / 8pm UK (that's May 21 at 5am AEST). It will focus on PvP, and will include footage of changes coming to the mode – and will serve as our biggest public look at the game since it was announced. You'll be able to watch the stream with us on IGN.
The livestream will feature Keller, lead hero designer Geoff Goodman, and associate art director Dion Rogers, and will be hosted by Matt “Mr. X” Morello and Mitch “Uber” Leslie (with appearances from Overwatch influencers Stylosa and Cuppcaake).
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Exactly what the livestream will introduce for PvP is unknown, but it will definitely affect both Overwatch 2 and the original Overwatch, with the two games sharing a single player-vs-player set-up. "From new maps to major gameplay updates," reads a press release, "we’re reinvigorating the core Overwatch experience."
Those PvP changes could be fundamental, with Overwatch 2's BlizzCon panel explaining that the team was making experimental changes to the game, including adding passive abilities across hero roles, wildly altering how tank characters work, and potentially even removing the Assault mode type altogether.
Now-departed game director Jeff Kaplan previously hinted to IGN that PvP changes would be evolutionary for the game: "We're trying to rethink maybe the way the game is played a little bit and redefine what PvP needs – go, 'Hey, we're not in Overwatch 1 anymore. We're in Overwatch 2 now. It's okay for it to be different. In fact, how many years are we going to play the same game before it's time to move on and experience something different and allow us to evolve?' Which I think is good."
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With no release date in sight, it's not clear how far along Overwatch 2 is in development, but Blizzard is aiming to update fans more regularly than it has done, so this may well be the first in a line-up of showcases for the game.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.