Story Missions

Missions

Story Missions is a game mode for Overwatch 2 released on 10 August 2023 along with Season 6: Invasion.

Overview

Story Missions are co-op PvE missions played on various maps in which players complete different objectives to progress through the story. Players are able to choose from select heroes; each mission contains a different group that pertains to the story.

Story Missions encompass a linear narrative about Overwatch reuniting to battle Null Sector, pushing the overall storyline forward. Each mission begins with a "previously on..." introduction that recaps events prior to the mission.

Currently, there are three playable Story Missions that can be unlocked by purchasing the Invasion Bundle from the Shop for $15 USD. The Overwatch development team plans to release more missions in the future, but no timeframe for their release has been announced.

Gameplay

Some missions are set on inaccessible areas of playable maps, such as Toronto and Rio de Janeiro; others are played on unreleased maps, such as Gothenburg. Each standard-play Story Mission map is about four to five times bigger than its PvP counterpart. Generally, Story Mission objectives are similar to standard play, such as defending an area from waves of enemies and escorting a payload.

The heroes a player can choose from are dictated by story constraints. Throughout the mission, heroes engage in banter and conversations with each other and some NPCs.

Story Missions can be played on one of four difficulty settings: Normal, Hard, Expert, or Legendary. Similar to Event Missions, each difficulty level increases the number of enemies, the amount of damage they do, and the amount of health they have. Enemies in Story Missions have "elite" versions, which deal increased damage and require more damage to be taken down. Completing a mission gives the player Battle Pass experience.

Interface

The Story Missions interface

Story Missions are accessible through the Play menu. The Story Missions interface is set up on Winston's computer on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Each screen opens another menu:

• Intel Database (left terminal)
• Mission Select (center terminal)
• Communications (right terminal)

The interface also includes various items on Winston's desk, all of which are interactive and will elicit a voice line from Winston or Athena when clicked. These include a photo of the original Overwatch group, a holographic emitter, a mini double-decker bus, and an Overwatch mug. These items and other details of the interface will change as each mission is completed.

Mission List

Currently, there are three Story Missions available:

1. Resistance (Rio de Janeiro)
2. Liberation (Toronto)
3. Ironclad (Gothenburg)

Development

The intention of including a PvE mode in Overwatch stems back to Project Titan. Despite the game's cancellation, Team 4 wanted to have a similar scope for Overwatch. A "crawl, walk, run" development plan was formed: Overwatch as the "crawl," a dedicated PvE as the "walk," and an MMO as the "run." The mode originally included a talent system, but it was cut during development. With the cancellation of Hero Missions, Story Missions would be given more focus.

Blizzard developed new streaming tech and developer tools to make such large, detailed maps.

While cinematics were created for Story Missions, they were designed to be used sparingly, as the developers didn't want to take too much control from players.

As of April 2024, there is evidence that further Story Missions have been cancelled, or at least, deprioritized. In January 2024, Microsoft layoffs affected the Story Missions' development team, and by March of the same year, the Story Missions tab in the game's menu had been reduced in prominence. Speaking under conditions of anonymity, (ex)-Blizzard employees stated that the original plan was to drop three missions every eighteen months. Work on the campaign missions was apparently held up in pursuit of a nebulous thing called “Blizzard Quality,” a term used to describe a standard the company aspires to. According to one source, this became a crutch that was frequently used to avoid making calls that would move the development of story missions forward. Furthermore, the PvP-centric nature of Overwatch was difficult to adapt into PvE gameplay. Sources further stated that while Overwatch 2 had been presented with PvE as its selling point, within Blizzard itself, PvP remained the priority, and as such, the development of PvE modes suffered for it.

According to one source, while there was still support for Story Missions within Blizzard, it was estimated that to deliver Story Missions, Team 4 would have to double in size—400 people focusing on PvP, while another 400 would focus on PvE.

After the first trio of Story Missions released, reception within Activision-Blizzard was frosty, as the missions "did not do well at all," either financially or critically. While Blizzard has since come under the ownership of Microsoft, reportedly, from a business perspective, Microsoft does not have any faith in PvE.

Challenges

Mission challenges require the player to have purchased the related Story Missions.

Invasion

Invasion Challenges

Challenge Name	Requirements	Reward	Notes
Invasion Survivor	Win Resistance, Liberation, and Ironclad on any difficulty.	Sojourn - Hero Vigilante - Sojourn Skin
Invasion Hero	Win Resistance, Liberation, and Ironclad on Legendary difficulty.	Nullifier - Player Title

Resistance

Resistance Challenges

Challenge Name	Requirements	Reward	Notes
Resistance Fighter	Win Resistance on any difficulty.	Chicken Mascot - Weapon Charm 10,000 XP
Hardened Resistance Fighter	Win Resistance on Hard difficulty.	Club Logo - Spray 3,000 XP
Expert Resistance Fighter	Win Resistance on Expert difficulty.	Chicken Mascot - Spray 3,000 XP
Legendary Resistance Fighter	Win Resistance on Legendary difficulty.	Charger - Spray 5,000 XP
Carnaval of Heroes	Win Resistance with 3 different heroes.	5,000 XP
Save-A-Mari	Gather 4 Pachimaris on the Null Sector carrier and win Resistance on Expert or Legendary difficulty.	Our Differences - Echo Voice Line 2,000 XP
Bot Overboard	Knock an enemy off the Null Sector carrier and win Resistance.	Soundtrack for a Revolution - Lúcio Voice Line 2,000 XP

Liberation

Liberation Challenges

Challenge Name	Requirements	Reward	Notes
Liberation Fighter	Win Liberation on any difficulty.	Cute Slicer - Weapon Charm 10,000 XP
Hardened Liberation Fighter	Win Liberation on Hard difficulty.	Null Sector Emblem - Spray 3,000 XP
Expert Liberation Fighter	Win Liberation on Expert difficulty.	Unity - Spray 3,000 XP
Legendary Liberation Fighter	Win Liberation on Legendary difficulty.	Stalker - Spray 5,000 XP
Maple Forum	Win Liberation with 3 different heroes.	5,000 XP
Good Passenger	Pay your subway fare and win Liberation.	A Better World - Winston Voice Line 2,000 XP
Canadian Hospitality	Drink a cup of coffee and win Liberation.	Spare Gun - Sojourn Voice Line 2,000 XP

Ironclad

Ironclad Challenges

Challenge Name	Requirements	Reward	Notes
Ironclad Fighter	Win Ironclad on any difficulty.	Cardamom Bun - Souvenir 10,000 XP
Hardened Ironclad Fighter	Win Ironclad on Hard difficulty.	Ironclad Emblem - Spray 3,000 XP
Expert Ironclad Fighter	Win Ironclad on Expert difficulty.	Horse Statue - Spray 3,000 XP
Legendary Ironclad Fighter	Win Ironclad on Legendary difficulty.	Titan - Spray 5,000 XP
Smörgåsbord of Heroes	Win Ironclad with 3 different heroes.	5,000 XP
Iron Cannon	Win Ironclad with the Mega-Cannon at 50% or more health on Expert or Legendary difficulty.	The Lindholm Way - Brigitte Voice Line 2,000 XP
The Babies Are Safe	Win Ironclad with all of Torbjörn's workshop turrets intact.	Do It Yourself - Torbjörn Voice Line 2,000 XP

See also

• Event Missions
• Hero Missions (cancelled mode)

Trivia

• Around 12,000 lines of dialogue were recorded for the first three Story Missions.