It was “seasonal”
Overwatch 2 has only been out for roughly half a year, but it feels longer: maybe because it’s so similar to Overwatch 1? Either way, the game has been through its own set of growing pains, especially when it comes to player communication and consistency. One such incident involved the competitive Mystery Hero playlist, which was abruptly removed in April.
What is the competitive Mystery Heroes playlist?
The competitive Mystery Heroes playlist is essentially a competitive randomized 5v5 hero mode, with fully random compositions and maps. It was unpredictable and added a new layer to Overwatch 2 strategy: especially given the competitive tint.
On March 14, 2023 in Season 3 of Overwatch 2, the playlist was added to the game with little fanfare but managed to make lots of positive waves throughout the community.
The mode was removed just a month later on April 12, 2023.
Why are fans upset that the competitive Mystery Heroes playlist is gone?
One of the main issues with modern Blizzard (which used to be fairly accessible) is communication, plain and simple. Especially in a post-Jeff Kaplan era.
For a game as big as Overwatch 2 (or Overwatch 1.5, however, you want to slice it): Blizzard should have announced that this was a seasonal mode with an end date, then assessed whether or not it would be worth bringing back in the future.
Will the competitive Mystery Heroes playlist ever come back?
There’s hope! We do have the official word from Blizzard Server Engineer Morgan Maddren on why it was removed:
“I miss it too. MH was one of our seasonal rank modes, but it looks like we didn’t communicate that well. Given how much fun it was, I imagine it will come back at some point!”
Published: Apr 17, 2023 09:26 am