Blizzard released a comic and trailer that give gamers a deeper look at the first ever Overwatch Archives, the series of events focused on Overwatch lore that replaces last year's Uprising.
The Overwatch Archives will soon roll out Retribution, which has Blackwatch as the star of the show in a controversial moment in Overwatch history.
Blackwatch Takes The Stage In 'Overwatch' Archives: Retribution
Blizzard, through game director Jeff Kaplan and lead engineer Tim Ford, recently confirmed that last year's Uprising event, which focused on the omnic uprising in King's Row seven years ago, will be replaced by the Overwatch Archives. The series will provide gamers with a deeper understanding of Overwatch lore, starting off with this year's Retribution.
Blackwatch, the black ops unit of Overwatch led by Gabriel Reyes before he became Reaper, is the main character in the Retribution comic alongside Jack Morrison, now known as Soldier: 76. After an attack on an Overwatch facility, Reyes wants to dish out revenge, but Morrison is understandably hesitant. Morrison eventually gives in, unofficially letting Reyes and Blackwatch go on the controversial mission.
The Retribution trailer shows what happens in that mission, which took Blackwatch to Italy. Simply put, it looks like things did not go as planned.
Retribution To Launch April 10: What Can Players Expect?
Even before the announcement that Uprising will be replaced with Overwatch Archives, players knew that the event will launch on April 10. What can players expect from it?
The main draw of the annual event is the lesson on Overwatch history through the PvE brawl. While last year's Uprising featured a four-player-team of Tracer, Reinhardt, Mercy, and Torbjorn, Retribution will have players take on the roles of McCree, Genji, Moira, and Reyes, before he became Reaper.
The Italy-based Rialto map where the PvE brawl of Retribution will happen will soon also be added to the list of playable PvP maps, as soon as it goes through PTR testing.
Lastly, the loot box items from last year's Uprising will once again be available, but joining them are 60 new unlockable cosmetic upgrades. Players looking to acquire them will have to be quick about it though, as Retribution will only run until April 30.
Will 'Overwatch' Battle Royale Ever Happen?
Blizzard has done a great job at integrating Overwatch lore into the multiplayer shooter, but the development team thinks that there is one thing that they should avoid: a Battle Royale mode.
An Overwatch Battle Royale mode has been considered by the game developers, but ultimately, they decided that last-man-standing matches will not work well within the Overwatch universe. This is partly because Overwatch has never been intended to be a 1v1 game, with some heroes having advantages over others. This will make Battle Royale matches in Overwatch unfair right from the very start.
