Overwatch Director says PvE could return but full campaign would need a “whole

Overwatch Game Director Aaron Keller has opened the door to PvE story missions returning, but bringing back the ambitious campaign originally promised for Overwatch 2 could require an entirely new game.

When Overwatch 2 was first announced in 2019, PvE was one of its biggest selling points, with Blizzard promising a story campaign, replayable Hero Missions, talent trees, and more.

However, those plans gradually fell apart. Blizzard canceled Hero Mode in 2023, leaving players with just three story missions released as part of the Invasion update.

Those missions also failed to meet expectations, with Blizzard reportedly canceling all future PvE missions in 2024 following disappointing sales.

Now, Keller has suggested PvE might not be gone forever, although fans hoping for a full campaign shouldn't get their hopes up just yet.

Story-based Overwatch game could still happen

As reported by TheGamer, Keller explained that previous PvE experiences, including the Archives events and story missions, generated excitement but struggled to keep players engaged.

While the missions helped advance Overwatch's narrative, Keller admitted they "didn't really get played the way that we wanted it to."

He explained that developing PvE missions requires considerable time and resources, which could instead be used to produce cinematics, comics, and other forms of storytelling without taking developers away from the core PvP experience.

That doesn't mean Blizzard has completely abandoned the idea, though.

"I would never discount it," Keller said when asked about bringing PvE content back.

The director indicated that smaller PvE experiences could still be possible, provided they don't pull too many resources away from Overwatch's competitive multiplayer.

However, a full-scale story campaign like the one originally envisioned for Overwatch 2 would be a much bigger undertaking, potentially requiring a separate development team to create "a whole new game."

This isn't the first time Keller has expressed interest in revisiting Overwatch's narrative. In July 2025, he admitted Blizzard had "dropped the ball" with the game's story and lore, saying the team wanted to get back to expanding its universe.

He also previously revealed why the original Archives PvE missions couldn't simply return, explaining that development changes had broken many of the tools needed to run them.

For now, there's no indication that Blizzard is actively developing another PvE campaign, let alone a standalone Overwatch title. However, we do know that a mobile OW game, Overwatch Rush, is in the works, so it's clear that the team wants to bring the Overwatch universe to other platforms.

And, even if the story doesn't continue in the form of a new game, there are other ways the story of Overwatch could take shape. At BlizzCon 2026, the studio announced that a Diablo Netflix series was coming, and hinted that discussions were underway to bring Overwatch to the small screen as well.