Overwatch 2 players are slamming their heads against the wall after learning that Blizzard failed to deliver a Netflix adaptation

Overwatch's animated shorts have always been one of, if not THE, best parts. Fans have only been able to experience a fraction of Overwatch's potential.

During an AMA with Jason Schreier in the run-up to his upcoming book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, one curious player asked the question many of us have been wondering about for a long time now: "Any insights into why Blizzard hasn't branched out into Movies/TV/animation?"

Schreier replies, "The book reveals they had series in production with Netflix for Warcraft Overwatch and Diablo." "But, uh... Blizzard sued Netflix for poaching Spencer Neumann (Blizzard’s then CFO)"

Netflix reportedly courted Neumann in 2018 while he was in the middle of an Activision Blizzard fixed-term contract. Activision Blizzard terminated Neumann's contract "for violating the legal obligations he owed to the company," Activision informed investors. He had a clause that prohibited him from soliciting other job offers.

Overwatch 2 has so many possibilities for its story, but they're all left in limbo. Overwatch is almost like an anti-story. The plot cannot progress, otherwise we wouldn't have a game since it relies on heroes returning to face Talon or Null Sector. It took eight long years for the heroes of Overwatch to respond to Winston's "call to arms" that he issued at the start of Overwatch 2016. No one is allowed to win or die. Imagine if Ana was banned from the game because she died of old age.

Only when a new character joined the roster did we get a new story fragment. This would give us more information about the backstory of the new hero. Doomfist’s animated short, despite being only two minutes long, is still one of the most memorable. It shows off everything that would make Overwatch 2's animated series fantastic. The world-building and a roster of skilled and exciting characters are already in place. Schreier says that this is still a pipedream, at least for now, and the players are understandably frustrated.

"WE LOST SO UNBELIEVABLY HARSH," a player said in response to the announcement, which was emblematic for the wider reaction. Blizzard made a huge mistake, according to most players. Animations could have been used to extend Overwatch 2's narrative without making permanent changes to the game.

Overwatch 2 released and many players, including myself, were disappointed that the PvE promised was not delivered. Eight months ago, during mass layoffs of Overwatch's Lead Director of Narrative, Gavin Jurgens Fyhrie, he announced that his tenure on the team would be over. The rest the narrative team were also hit hard by layoffs. Schreier's announcement is another nail in Overwatch 2's coffin. It's also a sad sign that Blizzard might not value what attracted so many players to Overwatch: the brilliant narrative.