In an interview with Eurogamer, the developers working on Blizzard’s upcoming MMO shooter Overwatch addressed some community concerns about the way players will progress and be rewarded within the game. Having previously only given vague half-answers to these questions, the air was cleared up slightly by game director Jeff Kaplan.
The titled is currently slated for an “early 2016” release and recently finished some fairly popular closed beta testing. But while the feedback from the testing community has been very good, the question of in-game progression and post-launch monetization has been raised a number of times. In the interview this week, Kaplan fielded questions about how the game’s players would be rewarded:
Unlike World Of Warcraft or Diablo, where the progression is one of the main motivating factors in those games, whether it be what your level is or your gear, Overwatch is different in that sense. We don’t want the progression system to be burdensome in the fact that it’s telling you what to do or how to play. I think if we tune it correctly, we can tune it in a way where higher skilled players and players that are performing well can progress faster. I think that would feel pretty good for people.
So it seems Blizzard are aiming for a more organic feeling of progression for the finished version of their game, and have a good gamer-focus driving the continued work they are doing with Overwatch. It’s also highly encouraging to hear Kaplan talk about how the developer’s thoughts are not on how the title can be continually monetized, but on how they can engage a large audience with a fun and vibrant gaming community. You go, guys!