The cinematic shown at BlizzCon opens up with the Omnic crisis. Soldiers attempt to fight Omnics, with the help of the Overwatch heroes. Tracer, Winston and Mei lead the fight, protecting civilians from harm, primarily in the form of a giant mecha. Winston knows the battle is hard. “Mei, get everyone out of here”. When hope seems lost, the cavalry arrives, introducing a new character, Echo.  “Does this mean...Overwatch is back?”

Following the incredible eight minute cinematic 'ZERO HOUR', Jeff Kaplan took to the BlizzCon stage to confirm what was already suspected by the community at large: Overwatch 2 is coming. The game looks to be primarily story-focused, and will also feature new modes, missions, and characters while also having potential crossover for current Overwatch players.

The exposition of OW2 seems to focus on Null Sector, an extremist Omnic terrorist organization in which the heroes of Overwatch have banned together to try and stop a potential hostile takeover from the radical robots. New heroes, including the aforementioned Echo and Sojourn, were both featured, implying that new heroes will be coming to OW2. 

What's in a name?

In addition to its story-based missions, Overwatch 2 will also have hero missions, highly-replayable co-op,  and experience and customization mechanics reminsicent to RPG.   A new PvP mode called "Push" and new maps were shown, as was a new cosmetic look for a handful of the original OW heroes. 

Contrary to what the name might imply, Overwatch 2 functions as less of a true sequel to the original Overwatch, and more of a universal expansion not unlike Riot Games' recent rollout for the 10th Anniversary of League of Legends.

The extensive lore that looks to be built out from Overwatch 2 is only bolstered by the various game modes allowing players to immerse themselves in the OW universe in a plethora of ways to suit any desired gaming experience.