Blizzard just announced that the new (and widespread) Ninja character Kiriko will be free for everyone surveillance 2 Players who already own a copy of the original over watch. While that might seem like cause for celebration, the controversial free-to-play sequel is blocking access to most future characters behind a battle pass system was less well received. In new comments reported today, Blizzard executives explained why they believe the new system will ultimately prove acceptable.
“What we’re actually seeing in the data is that a majority of players in over watch have a majority of their playtime on two or fewer heroes.” Jon Spector, a VP of overwatch,
So that’s the official line as to why Blizzard feels entitled to deviate from the original over watch‘s model of giving every character to all players in a system that locks new heroes behind a Battle Pass: Original over watch Players haven’t played enough different characters, so they probably won’t miss them.
But there’s a bit of mixed messaging. The characters are still the core of how Blizzard is monetizing the new game. over watchGeneral Manager Walter Kong told the press at an event that “Heroes are the most engaging content we have in game… We want to be able to continuously invest in this live game service. From the company’s point of view, this is not free.”
Surely there will be some Starter freebies for new and returning players. New heroes Sojourn and Junker Queen will be free to unlock for all Season 1 players, and ninja support character Kiriko will be free for players who own the original over watch. But new players who want to try Kiriko will either have to pay $10 for the premium battle pass or grind the free one up to level 55. At least they can still play all 32 characters from the original roster.
Continue reading: Everything that is shown during the surveillance 2 ‘Reveal’ event
Kiriko is a healer who can dish out decent critical damage and support her allies in the middle of a gunfight, and that’s what she is been described as a “battle healer” for Genji mains. This marks a big shift in how Blizzard designs new heroes, actively trying to prevent situations where one character can act as a “hard counter” to another.
“We’re trying to take some of those really hard rock, paper, and scissors interactions out of the game [replace] give them more choices for players,” said Game Director Aaron Keller igamesnews. “We buffed our support heroes to make them more survivable.”
While losing weight, how dependent over watch is on counters sounds like a positive move in general, locking an ever-increasing percentage of the hero roster behind Battle Pass tiers, whether free or premium, feels like a step backwards for player choice.
surveillance 2 will be released on October 4th this year.