One of the biggest issues that online games face is content droughts. Sometimes, players will complete content faster than developers can make it, or resources will be pulled off to focus on larger projects.Overwatchsuffered from content drought asthe studio focused onOverwatch 2, andWorld of Warcraftalso faces this issue on a regular basis as players have to wait months between major patches. This issue is not exclusive to Blizzard games, as so many online titles likeFinal Fantasy 14also get accused of lacking content.
Overwatch 2is hoping to fix this issue by introducing a nine-week content roadmap. This will keep the game fresh and introduce a steady stream of content for players to chew through. Blizzard’s other large online title,World of Warcraft, may also be able to benefit from a system like this. While the game does not have to stop churning out large-scale updates and expansions, the developer may want to consider releasing smaller updates alongside them on a more regular basis. If it works forOverwatch 2, it would only make sense to adopt something similar forWoW.
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The Overwatch 2 Roadmap Explained
WhenOverwatch 2releases, it will be adopting a free-to-play model. With this new model, Blizzard will also be introducing new maps, heroes, skins, and a battle pass every nine weeks. While it is yet to be seen whether this new model will be successful, it is nice to see Blizzard seems committed to providing a steady stream of content.
This new live-service model is in-line with content schedules for many other live-service titles.Fortniteis one of the top gameson the market right now, and it is constantly getting new content through seasonal updates.Apex Legendsalso receives seasonal updates that bring with them a whole suite of content for players to check out. EvenCall of Dutyhas adopted this seasonal model for its titles, including bothWarzoneand the mainline titles. This seasonal model is what most live-service games are headed for, andOverwatch 2is the next title to adopt it.
World of Warcraft Could Benefit From a Similar Model
World of Warcraftalso receives large-scale updates every year, however these updates can be pretty spread out and players often accuse the game of going through severe content droughts.Shadowlands got two major content updatesthat added loads of content for players to grind through, but the patches each came out a year apart. While these patches do give players something to play, they are too far-between to keep players consistently coming back. The best way to fix this would be to adopt a similar live-service model toOverwatch 2.
TheWorld of Warcraftpatchesare often pretty large-scale, and they add a decent amount of content. Usually there is a brand-new max level zone and multiple questlines along with a new raid and dungeons. In between these patches, there is usually a smaller patch that fixes issues with the previous update and adds a bit more content, but players tend to chew through this stuff fast.
Overwatch 2will be getting brand-new contentevery nine weeks, andWorld of Warcraftshould do something similar. This content can come in the form of new cosmetics, questlines, some events, and maybe even a character race or two when Blizzard has something ready. Right now, a lot of this content is usually reserved for the large patches or the new expansion updates, but Blizzard should release random ones throughout an expansion’s runtime. The studio has introduced a lot of features that allow for quicker forms of content like allied races and micro-holidays, but it has yet to use them to their full potential.
WhileWorld of Warcraftdoes not need a brand-new patch every nine weeks, it could benefit from frequently released small patches alongside the major ones. Even adding a quest here or there would go a long way to giving players a reason to return.Dragonflight is the studio’s chanceto redo how it does content, and hopefully it does just that.
