Blizzard announces Overwatch sequel at BlizzCon

At BlizzCon today, Blizzard's Jeffrey Kaplan took to the stage to announce Overwatch 2, a sequel to the hit 2016 multiplayer shooter. 

Overwatch 2 appears to differ notably from the first game, featuring a larger focus on co-op story missions as opposed to the competitive multiplayer of the first game. This design appears much akin to the missions that Blizzard has released as part of Overwatch events. 

Though the trailer emphasized the new co-op story content, the game also seems to retain the multiplayer, esports-friendly design of the first game. However, it appears the multiplayer has been refocused around a new core game mode. 

"First and foremost, you have to remember Overwatch is a team versus team, 6v6 experience, and there's no way we're losing that at all," Kaplan said.

Kaplan also announced that support would continue for the first Overwatch, as new multiplayer maps and heroes would be shared between the two games. He described it as a "shared multiplayer environment" where players from the two teams could compete together. Items players have purchased in the first Overwatch will also migrate to Overwatch 2.