Upcoming Overwatch 2 books hint at PvE campaign content, new heroes and maps

Michael Gwilliam
overwatch 2 book cover

A pair of upcoming Overwatch 2 books may indicate when players can expect to see the PvE content in 2023 along with some new heroes and maps in the seasons ahead.

Overwatch 2 fans looking forward to the PvE story will finally be able to get their hands on the campaign content later this year. While when remains a mystery for now, upcoming OW2 books may provide some insight into when it will launch.

Later this year, Overwatch 2: Heroes Ascendant: An Overwatch Story Collection and Overwatch: Declassified will release and both books will feature some major details about the game’s lore.

For players hoping to learn more about Hanzo, Symmetra, Ashe, Ana, Soldier 76, and more – these books have indicated that Blizzard has a lot of new content up their sleeve and might hint at maps and even heroes.

Overwatch 2 maps and heroes possibly teased in upcoming books

Overwatch 2: Heroes Ascendant is set to release on October 17, 2023 and will include several short stories featuring the game’s cast.

As spotted by Overwatch Cavalry, the synopsis for some of these stories indicate that some big content could be on the way soon, especially as OW2’s upcoming campaign highlights the Null Sector invasion.

Some of the stories listed even possibly hint at new maps and characters. For instance, one reads, “As Null Sector drop pods rain down on Tokyo, Hanzo hears the ghost of his father—and meets with a familiar face.”

Another story will, “trace Symmetra’s travels abroad to retrieve a Vishkar asset . . . and an old friend” while another author, “lends fresh perspective to Ana and Jack’s relationship as they weave through a broken Istanbul to meet with an informant, one who claims to have knowledge of what brought down Overwatch all those years ago.”

Who is the familiar face Hanzo meets with? How about Symmetra’s old friend? Could we even be seeing an Istanbul map in the future?

Additionally, Overwatch: Declassified, set to release on November 7 in the US and July 28 in Canada, documents the “first-ever history of Overwatch, from its founding in the Omnic Crisis to its fall and reformation.”

Do OW2 books hint at PvE content launch?

Interestingly, the first book’s description calls it the “perfect companion read to Overwatch 2’s main story,” which may suggest that its release will coincide with it in some capacity.

We already know that PvE will launch gradually throughout 2023 and beyond, but the devs have remained quite mum on story content so far.

However, in order for the book to be the “perfect companion read” to the campaign, it’s likely that PvE will have already been released prior to October and much earlier if the stories come out in pieces through the year.

We’ll have to wait and see what Blizzard has planned for later this year, but the devs have already hyped up future seasons, claiming that fans will be saying “holy sh*t” when they see for themselves.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam