Players select from one of over 40 heroes, broadly classified into the three roles of Tank, Damage, and Support, and work with their team to attack or defend map objectives.
Each hero has a unique set of weapons, abilities, and skills, which players use to coordinate with their team to overpower the other.
The game has been both a critical and financial success for Blizzard, exceeding over 30 million players and obtaining over US$1 billion in revenue within its first year.
Players keep their earned character cosmetic options after the event ends, but the rest of the themed elements return to normal.
Over the course of developing Overwatch, Blizzard opted against using a downloadable content model to extend the game and bring post-sale revenues, as they had developed the game around the mechanic of allowing players to switch out to new heroes during the course of a match as to meet current strategic conditions; by requiring players to purchase new heroes, such a model would have hampered this approach.
Other competitor games, such as Destiny, League of Legends and Team Fortress 2, also implement in-game seasonal events.
Kaplan saw the seasonal events as a means to still provide some type of fresh content to Overwatch players during this interim.
[22] According to Kaplan, the Archive modes were something Blizzard felt had been asked for by players since they started offering the seasonal events.
Players had requested non-holiday-themed events, as well as sought more details on the setting and history of the Overwatch world.
[23] Also, these events add additional cosmetic items based on the uniforms and backstory of the original Overwatch forces.
[23] In the normal Archive events, players select from four pre-selected characters, and then fight as directed by in-game narration to attack or defend points from enemy forces.
If all four players are downed, or the explosive is destroyed before reaching the sealed doors, the round ends as a loss.
D'Anastasio also felt that with new voice lines to support this mode, it helped to establish the game's lore for players.
[28] PC Gamer argued that the Uprising event demonstrated the potential for a strong team-based story-driven campaign developed within the Overwatch narrative.
Lúcioball was designed as a futuristic soccer game in which two teams of three Lúcio characters attempt to push a ball into their opponents' goal.
Played in four-minute matches on the special stadium map, Estádio das Rãs, players use two kinds of attacks to control the ball's movements: primarily, a melee attack and a secondary, powerful sonic boom that could knock back opponents as well (frequently called "booping" by players).
Players can also use the level's environmental perks (e.g., jump pads and speed-boosting walls) to secure a strategic advantage on the field.
In Junkenstein's Revenge, four players cooperatively guard a castle door against oncoming waves of enemies and bosses.
Set in a themed section of the game's Eichenwalde map, players select a difficulty level and choose between the characters Ana, Hanzo, McCree, and Soldier: 76, before fighting off approaching mindless "zomnic" drones, long-range "zombardiers," exploding tires, and costumed versions of the characters Reaper, Roadhog, Symmetra, Mercy, and Junkrat (as the titular Dr.
[34] The game mode includes new voice work and is based on a companion comic book released concurrently.
The mode takes place on the smaller Ecopoint: Antarctica map, introduced in the previous months for standard deathmatch play.
After collecting four pieces of meat, which spawn randomly in predetermined locations around the map, Winston unleashes his Ultimate ability for a short period which temporarily boosts his health, reduces his jump cooldown, and gives him powerful melee attacks.
[14] Character-specific challenges are not run on a regular schedule but generally are released alongside new narrative pieces of lore for that character.
Rewards are earned on reaching certain scoring levels, and players cannot loss points to fall below these checkpoints.