Yet another popular feature from the original Overwatch will be missing when Overwatch 2 arrives on October 4 as Blizzard has confirmed Workshop creatives will have to wait to design any new custom modes in the sequel.
Back in 2019 the Overwatch community was introduced to the Workshop. This intricate system allowed fans to build their very own game types and experiences with a range of powerful settings. Be it a simple aim routine warmup, platforming challenges, or even full-fledged recreations of other popular games, many were quick to showcase the potential of the toolset.
Over the years, we’ve seen the Workshop go from a casual showcase of lighthearted modes to a necessary feature Overwatch League teams required to practice on certain builds of the game.
When Overwatch 2 goes out in just a few days, however, and completely erases the original game in the process, the Workshop will no longer be available in the same capacity. Blizzard has confirmed new creations won’t be possible for an indefinite period while devs work on updating the component for the sequel.
“When Overwatch 2 launches on October 4, Workshop development tools will be temporarily unavailable,” Community Manager Craig Simpson announced in a September 28 post.
The reason? Blizzard is still “putting some finishing touches on the feature.
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“Our goal is to have the scripting interface Workshop tool back up and running in a future game update, date to be announced.”
With no clear ETA for its re-release, this puts Workshop in a similar position to the highly anticipated PvE element. Similarly, a number of fan-favorite maps from the Control (2CP) game mode will also vanish from public game rotation due to the removal of the mode altogether.
For the time being, it’s unclear when we might see the full Workshop mode return in Overwatch 2. Given the new maps on offer, new modes available to tweak, not to mention new heroes and existing hero overhauls, there’s obviously a great many variables for the Workshop to accommodate. It’s not quite as simple as just dragging the same toolset over to the new build of the game.
Fortunately, players will still have access to any Workshop modes saved before the launch of Overwatch 2, Simpson confirmed. So your favorite playlists today can still be enjoyed early on in the sequel while development tools are updated in the background.