Overwatch 2 Season 4 has given fans of the hero shooter plenty to be excited about. The community-crafted Talantis map is set to become playable in May, the series is celebrating Pride month for the first time, and Starwatch will be transforming the game’s heroes into Space Opera characters. Lifeweaver has also released, with the new hero shaking up matches in a major way. However, one thing missing from Overwatch 2’s fourth Season is the Archives event.

Overwatch 2 Season 4 spans the months when Archives would usually occur, though it is nowhere to be seen. This has led fans to theorize that the event has either been moved to a later date or been fully retired, as it is not necessarily a must with a full PvE campaign on the way. Still, it would be a shame to lose the three classic missions from Archives, so perhaps this PvE campaign could find a way to repurpose them and make them feel brand-new.

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How Overwatch 2 Can Make Archives Missions Refreshing

Thus far, Overwatch 2 has been good about bringing back old content so that new players can experience it. While it would be nice to have a larger output of never-before-seen brawls and skins in the classic events, there is still value to bringing back seasonal modes like Yeti Hunter and Junkenstein’s Revenge. After all, the many free-to-play gamers who got into the franchise with Overwatch 2 will have never played these modes, and the same can be said for the Archives missions, which is a shame since they were so much fun.

If Blizzard has not just moved Archives to another point in 2023 and is indeed planning on scrapping the event, its missions should be integrated into Overwatch 2’s PvE campaign. Assuming that Blizzard is planning on having players pay for access to the co-op mode, Archives could be offered for free, giving gamers a way to try out PvE and see if it is them before they spend money on it. The Archives missions could be given a separate “legacy” menu, letting players learn about the lore that led up to Overwatch 2’s main story.

Blizzard could make Archives missions feel more representative of the expanded PvE that Overwatch 2 will offer by integrating mechanics from the campaign into the older content. Pickups like the turrets and health packs could be introduced, while players could make use of the abilities they have obtained from the new Overwatch 2 skill trees. Best of all, some of the new enemy types from the campaign could be added to the old missions, with a simple line of dialogue providing a lore justification for their inclusion.

Considering how Overwatch 2 has embraced challenges for unlockable skins and other cosmetics in its PvP content, perhaps players could acquire old Archives outfits from beating the remixed missions on different difficulties or by finishing certain challenges. Turning the old Archives skins into in-game rewards would go a long way to pleasing fans, and it would make new and old players alike more interested in spending time playing the classic content. Though it would hardly be a requirement, as having access to the missions would be plenty, it would be a nice way to make the other Archives content permanently relevant without a yearly event.

Whether it is Tracer’s first mission in Uprising, Blackwatch’s activities in Retribution, or Ramattra’s first appearance in Storm Rising, the Archives missions document key moments in Overwatch’s lore. As such, deleting them completely would make little sense. Though it is true that they got a bit old in the later years of the original game, as only some modifiers were added to shake them up, they would feel a lot less repetitive if they were accompanied by hundreds of other Overwatch 2 missions. Hopefully, even if Archives dies off, its missions will continue to live on.

Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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