Now for real grief: Jeff Kaplan has stated that heroes in Overwatch could eventually be retired.
We would leave the door open to that. I think the fact that we chose the business model we did – that the game comes with all the heroes and we’re giving you everything [extra] for free so far – allows us to retire a hero without feeling bad about it. But I think we have a long way to go before heroes will need to be.
Any idea how they're going to deal with the resulting shitstorm if and when they do start retiring heroes?
This is literally breaking news, but he seems to be reversing his statement, saying the following in the Overwatch forums just minutes ago:
We don't have any plans to retire any heroes. The interviewer asked if there was a possibility that this could ever happen and I "left the door open". The original poster in this thread did not even link to the original article but rather to an article quoting the article in question.
We're not even remotely thinking about retiring heroes right now or anytime in the foreseeable future.
I think this thread is making a mountain out of a molehill.
Any idea how they're going to deal with the resulting shitstorm if and when they do start retiring heroes?
Keep in mind that they said "could", not "will": it's only a possibility and not an eventuality. I "could" go ahead and rob a bank right now, doesn't mean I'll actually do it though.
I'd be totally fine if they were to implement that kind of feature in the game. I mean in that way you can get to play spesific heroes in a limited time like in season two you get to play Sombra but she somehow get arrested by Overwatch team by Soldier 76 or he kills her and she won't be in game after season 4 or something like that. Or Reinhardt or Torbjorn is too old to play after season 5 and they are making a way to new younger generation to shine in the spotlight lol.
I'd be totally fine if they were to implement that kind of feature in the game. I mean in that way you can get to play spesific heroes in a limited time like in season two you get to play Sombra but she somehow get arrested by Overwatch team by Soldier 76 or he kills her and she won't be in game after season 4 or something like that. Or Reinhardt or Torbjorn is too old to play after season 5 and they are making a way to new younger generation to shine in the spotlight lol.
I beg to differ. I have grown fond of all the characters and would hate to see any of them go, including my least played heroes and especially my most hated ones, aside from my personal favorites. Aside from the various playstyle options they bring to the table, their individual character and personalities define the game to be what it is. Yes, content needs to be kept fresh, and I would be understanding that, if the developers designed themselves into a corner, they could redesign a character kit. But I would not be pleased if they outright deleted a character from the roster and made them entirely unplayable, ever again---special sendoff comic or animation short be damned. If I drop the game now and decide to come back in 5 years, I would expect the original characters I payed for to still be there, not a pruned cast. IMO, they should split the game off into a sequel long before they really get to the point of having an unmanageably huge cast.
Keep in mind that they said "could", not "will": it's only a possibility and not an eventuality. I "could" go ahead and rob a bank right now, doesn't mean I'll actually do it though.
