It’s no secret that Blizzard Entertainment’s first-person shooter Overwatch has taken the gaming community by storm, redefining the traditional model of team-based fps games almost overnight. While Overwatch’s popularity has only continued to grow since its release in May of 2016 - alongside an extremely active community of players and streamers - the development team already have their eyes set on the future of the franchise.

According to Jeff Kaplan, lead game designer on the Overwatch team, plans of an expanded Overwatch universe (including the much beloved animated character shorts, the tie-in webcomics, and even the possibility of additional Overwatch games) have been on the agenda since before the public ever got their hands on this masterpiece.

“I think we’re all dying to explore PvE at some point, but not for this game. Not for the initial offering of Overwatch, which is really focused on the team-based hero-action combat. So it’s something we’d like to get to someday in a different game.” - Jeff Kaplan

This makes perfect sense when you take a look at Blizzard’s business models following their other video game franchises. A game like Overwatch, which allows players infinite access to all content that will ever be available with a one-time purchase, is inherently going to lose steam over time as initial sales drop and the player-base becomes mostly established.

A smart prediction would be that an Overwatch sequel or spin-off is not as far off as some might think, and Blizzard has enough experience in the industry to know that it’s always best to strike while the iron is hot.

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