Earlier last year, it was announced thatOverwatchlead writerMichael Chu would be departing Blizzardafter working for the company for twenty years. Chu was responsible for designing the lore and story of the multiplayer FPS, but now a recent report reveals he will be putting his talents towards a new project with 2K Games' new studio 31st Union.
At the time of writing, there have been no official announcements about what the studio is working on, but it’s likely to be something which could compete with the might ofOverwatch. Chu joined 31st Union in July 2020 and has since made it clear that he wishes to continue creating “inclusive characters” which represent his own values. The new studio is co-led by Michael Condrey ofCall of DutyandDead Spacefame. Job postings uploaded by the studio suggests this latest project will be a “multiplayer character-action” AAA game not too dissimilar to the one Chu is partly responsible for. Other jobs being posted include a Senior World / Level Designer, and Software Engineers.
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In the past, 2K have attempted to rival the likes ofOverwatchwhen theylaunchedBattlebornback in 2016. Sadly, the game didn’t do anywhere near as well as its competitor and, in fact, had its servers shut down for good just a few days ago. Despite this, bringing Chu onboard suggests that 2K Games are not yet done with multiplayer titles, and his presence in the company could well make ears prick up for future news.
As well as being lead writer forOverwatch, Chu has a breadth of experience in the video game industry, having previously worked on such classics asDiablo,World of Warcraft, andStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. He left Blizzard around development of thestill-to-be-releasedOverwatch 2. The delays have left fans somewhat crushed as this installment was originally looking for a 2020 launch.
As of now, fans can only speculate about what this new project is going to be, but most will acknowledge that it’s looking like it will attempt to make a name for itself in thecharacter-driven multiplayer FPS genre. It’s impossible to say whether or not 2K’s new game will succeed after the disappointment ofBattleborn. But with Chu’s knowledge and experience of bringing game worlds and characters to life, there is hope that this next attempt will be able to sit up there with the best of them. It does, unfortunately, have its work cut out what with the immense popularity ofOverwatch.
Overwatchis available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
