Jeff Kaplan reveals Overwatch 2 graphic improvements coming to Overwatch

During an interview at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard Vice President, Jeff Kaplan, revealed that Overwatch and its forthcoming sequel will receive mirrored graphical improvements, as the developers plan to run both games simultaneously.

Overwatch 2 was officially unveiled to the public at BlizzCon 2019 and fans in attendance managed to get hands on with a host of new features coming to the franchise. 

From a host of new maps and heroes, to debuting an entirely new competitive game mode called ‘Push’, Blizzard has provided the Overwatch faithful with a glimmer of hope to latch onto as they eagerly await a release date.

Push will add a new dynamic to the competitive mode pool.

Alongside a list of changes that will be coming to the title upon release of the sequel, Kaplan has also provided a safety net to those who may prefer to continue their pursuits on the original title. 

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Speaking in an interview with Kotaku, the Blizzard executive left an encouraging sign for what’s in-store for the series from a graphics standpoint: “There will be a point where the clients merge… We think this is important, especially as a competitive experience.”

Jeff Kaplan addressed an open audience at BlizzCon 2019.

“The whole idea is to avoid fragmenting the player base and giving anybody a competitive advantage,” said Kaplan. “If we’re playing in the same competitive pool, you’d better not have a better framerate just because you’re on a different version of the engine.”

• Read more: Overwatch 2 character comparison – new hero models

Essentially, by pooling the updates across from the sequel to the original, Blizzard will ensure that both player bases receive access to equal (and fair) playing fields — in a bid to snowball their competitive platform.

Addressing the long-lasting community query of Blizzard’s perceived lackluster efforts with the original Overwatch, Kaplan stated: “We now feel like we can have that open dialogue with the community of, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is why we’re doing these things.’”

While what will differ between both titles in terms of content is yet to be officially revealed, players will take comfort in knowing that the development team are hard at work on both games and are not just leaving the original Overwatch for dust.