Activision Blizzard is reportedly trying to bring Overwatch Mobile to your phone screens.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier in his new book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, in which he interviews over 300 developers from across the company’s history on everything from its fabled cancellations to the turmoil that followed it at every step.
Despite being a massive breakout hit and launching a short-lived hero shooter craze, Overwatch has never really been able to capitalize on its viral characters outside of the main game’s offerings. The Overwatch 2 team scrapped its promised PvE campaign that pretty much justified the sequel’s revamp, and a Netflix Overwatch series was also canned after a legal fallout.
But Blizzard Entertainment apparently still has plans to expand the franchise. “Overwatch was led by Walter Kong, who oversaw the release of regular heroes and content for Overwatch 2, as well as new projects like a mobile version of the franchise,” Schreier writes. (Thanks, Dexerto.)
There’s no word on how far along the mobile version might be, whether it’s a straight-up port or a new take on the series, or if it’s even still in development – again, Blizzard’s history is rife with projects that never crossed the finish line. We’ll just need to wait for an official announcement from Blizzard and Overwatch general manager Walter Kong for more details.
Activision Blizzard found mega-success – we’re talking billions of dollars in annual revenue – from its efforts to condense Call of Duty’s frantic shooting onto smartphones. In 2022, Call of Duty Mobile was almost as big as the mainline games and Warzone combined. The port eventually eclipsed the main game’s popularity the year after, paving the way for this year’s Warzone Mobile to find similarly bonkers success. So, it’s no surprise to hear that the company’s other big FPS, and all those famous faces, are also going the Call of Duty route.
