Overwatch 2's New Mode Takes A Cue From Call Of Duty

Though it might be a long time before you can play "Overwatch 2," with its release date still up in the air, some pros recently got the chance to try out the upcoming title and share their thoughts on its new Push mode. On September 28, 2021, professional "Overwatch" players Space, Super, and Gator joined "Overwatch" League (OWL) Senior Manager of Product and Content Matt Morello for a Twitter Space chat on their experience playing "Overwatch 2" for the first time.

Though there are plenty of new features to unpack in "Overwatch 2," one stood out above the rest throughout the discussion. The upcoming title will feature a fresh function called Push mode in which "teams battle to take control of a robot" that starts in the middle of "a new, symmetrical map" and eventually gets pushed to one team's side or the other.

When watching the gamers' first "Overwatch 2" match, Morello noticed that Push mode "seemed really fast-paced, just constant skirmishes." The players agreed with this analysis, so much so that Space saw a similarity to another FPS. In his words, "It really just felt like I was playing 'Call of Duty,' when you just keep spawning and just keep fighting around the point. It felt like King of the Hill almost." As he referred to the fast-paced Control mode in "Overwatch," Space definitely saw similarities between Push mode and other popular FPS functions, and he wasn't the only one.

In addition to the similarities he found between "Overwatch 2" Push mode, previous "Overwatch" modes, and "Call of Duty," Super had some thoughts about what Push mode reminded him of most. The gamer described the new feature as something that "definitely felt like Deathmatch," but this also had to do with the fact that "it was so new that nobody really knew the maps, nobody knew where to fight...it was just very brand new for everybody."

Super brought up an important point when it comes to contextualizing these comments about Push mode. Given all the changes in "Overwatch 2," the gamers' analysis of Push mode can't be separated from the fact that it was their first time experiencing any of the game's new features. For example, one big change is the fact that "Overwatch 2" features 5v5 multiplayer instead of 6v6, which has some pros scrambling since it cuts down the number of Tank players needed. Add to new passive abilities, which could change the series forever, and you have an entirely new in-game landscape.

All that being said, "Overwatch 2" Push mode has the potential to pull in "COD" players as well as appeal to a variety of FPS gamers given its similarities to other "Overwatch" functions. Even though "Overwatch 2" looks similar to past "COD" games, that doesn't mean the two series will be the same. In fact, "COD" also has its own fair share of changes on the way.