After the overwhelming success of Blizzard's hero-shooter Overwatch in 2016, its sequel Overwatch 2 had a lot to live up to. Leading up to its release in 2022, Overwatch 2 courted some controversy with fans thanks to the wealth of changes coming to a title looking to replace that original game. With some technical hiccups and a slightly contentious launch, Overwatch 2 didn't have the smoothest starts, but after a few seasons Overwatch 2 is finally hitting its stride.
One of the most impressive feats of the original Overwatch was the cultural cachet it managed to achieve, permeating multiple mediums with its lore, worldbuilding, and hero-focused storytelling. The colorful roster of characters that players could use helped Overwatch stand out from similar titles, and Overwatch 2 has looked to expand on this with new narratives, format updates, and fresh faces. Its seasonal content has been hit-or-miss so far, but Season 4 is aiming to turn this around with a comprehensive package of exciting content all themed around its upcoming Starwatch event.
What is Overwatch 2's Starwatch
Overwatch 2's Season 4 has already started to generate hype among the game's playerbase thanks to its recent trailer and roadmap. Previous seasonal content in Overwatch has brought some cool additions, from uniquely themed skins to popular modes, but Starwatch is really ramping things up by taking the beloved heroes into space. The limited-time event is kicking off on Tuesday, May 9, and will be running until Monday, May 22, so players only have two weeks to enjoy the new content.
Statwatch represents some big changes to the base game with a new mode called Galactic Rescue. This will involve players being split into 4v4 teams of either Attackers or Defenders, but this time only certain heroes will be available. Blizzard said there will be “new objectives and surprises” in store as well, but the finer details are currently under wraps. The Horizon Lunar Colony map is also being reworked and added into Overwatch 2 to be used in the new mode, which should be an interesting update for players to test out. Alongside the classic selection of themed skins and specific event rewards, Starwatch is shaping up to be a significant new chapter for Overwatch 2.
Why Overwatch 2's Starwatch is Potentially a Game-Changer
Season 4 is already bringing the much-anticipated new support hero Lifeweaver, who should help shake things up alongside Brigitte's new shield upgrade. Creating substantive seasonal content is key for games like Overwatch 2 to retain their playerbase, and the fanfare around Starwatch definitely puts it front and center. Blizzard has extended the new event beyond the confines of the game, and will be releasing a tie-in comic to help flesh out the Starwatch narrative and get fans invested in the next Overwatch 2 season.
The amount of content included in Starwatch and its associated season, alongside the comic, show how Blizzard is doubling down on trying to support its seasonal content and go hard on creating spectacle around Overwatch 2. This is far from the game's lukewarm launch, and Blizzard's approach to highlighting everything new coming with Season 4 and the Starwatch event leaves fans to see this as a big deal. Whether the next season manages to deliver and Starwatch matches some of Overwatch or Overwatch 2's best events is yet to be seen, but this could be a sign of things to come in terms of Blizzard's commitment to hyping up its hero-shooter.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.