Overwatch has officially revealed when the 2021 Archives event will take place in April, and while a new PvE mission may be dubious, we can definitely expect some new skins.
Archives is unique among seasonal events, as it focuses on previous Overwatch missions with limited time PvE modes like Uprising, Retribution and Storm Rising.
History-filled festivities usually start in early April, and Overwatch has now announced that we will have access to the Archives at the right time.
Get ready to experience the past while fighting for the future.
Overwatch’s archives are back from April 6th! pic.twitter.com/whwjyGL9T2
– Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 4, 2021
According to the Overwatch tweet, Archives 2021 will run from April 6 to 27, 2021. Along with the dates, the trailer included photos from previous years’ missions, so we could very well be for the second consecutive year without any new PvE for the event.
While this is definitely disappointing, it makes sense if the Overwatch team is investing its resources to make Overwatch 2, rather than a single mission that will stay in the game for just a few weeks.
This is not to say that Jeff and the team are not just holding us until the very last moment, which they have done before. Still, we wouldn’t be investing in a new lore-based mission when Archives starts (especially with so much developer attention focused on Overwatch 2’s PvE content.
Despite this, there will certainly be at least some new skins and other cosmetics coming in for players to collect, as in all other events.
A whole new PvE mission could be an illusion this year.
Exactly which heroes will receive skins is unknown at this point. However, new skins are often triggered by the game on social media before the events start, so stay tuned from now until April 6th.
We haven’t seen a new PvE challenge since Storm Rising in 2019 and if it doesn’t happen this year, we may have to wait until Overwatch 2 is released (which I hope it will be before Archives 2022).
New PvE mission or not, we will have the latest updates on the new skins as soon as they are announced and more information on the 2021 Archives, as it starts this week