Summary
Blizzard reportedly had anOverwatchNetflix series in development that was canceled due to a lawsuit over the latter poaching an executive from the former. Had Netflix not lured an Activision Blizzard executive away from the company in the middle of their negotiations,Overwatch 2fans might have been able to enjoy an animated series of their own.
The story of theOverwatchuniverse has been in a strange place since the first-person shooter originally released in 2016. The first FPS lacked a true storytelling medium outside its stellar animated shorts, and while the 2022 sequel originally planned to finally progress the story via its story missions, evidence suggestsmost ofOverwatch 2’s PvE content has been scrapped.
Now, yet another missedOverwatchstorytelling opportunity has revealed itself. According to Bloomberg reporter and author ofPLAY NICE: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard EntertainmentJason Schreier, Blizzard and Netflix were developing anOverwatchseries in the late 2010s leading up tothe release ofOverwatch 2. Unfortunately, progress on these projects was ground to a halt when Netflix poached Spencer Neumann, former Activision CFO, leading to a lawsuit in 2020.
The Variety report on the lawsuit shared by Schreier during his AMA on Reddit explained that Neumann was courted by Netflix in late 2018, just over a year into his three-year deal with Activision, and in the middle of their negotiations for the animated series. This was in violation of Neumann’s “no shop” clause that prevented him from entertaining other employment opportunities while working for Activision, leading to his termination. Shortly after, in January 2019,he was signed on as Netflix’s CFO, prompting Activision Blizzard to sue the streaming service for being in contempt of California state employment laws.
Thelawsuit between Activision and Netflixkilled not only theOverwatchseries, but other Blizzard projects as well. Schreier confirmed that in-development Netflix shows for bothStarCraftandDiabloalso fell apart from this debacle, and given the bad blood from Neumann’s poaching, it is unlikely the two companies will be collaborating any time soon.
Needless to say,Overwatch 2players were beside themselves upon hearing this news. One fan on Twitter called it “the fumble of the decade,” while another said “It’s like the universe itself doesn’t want the story ofOverwatchto be told in any way.” With a large pool of heroes and plots to pull from, the possibilities for anOverwatchanimated series is nearly infinite, but it seems storytelling in Future Earth is doomed to never get very far. It is always possible thatBlizzard could surprise players with moreOverwatch 2stories in the future, but at the moment, players can only imagine what could have been.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
