In an announcement on its forums, the developer explained that starting with Season 11, the Hero Mastery Gauntlet, a round-based tower defense mode where players team up against robots, will no longer be available.
Despite this, the Hero Mastery Solo Courses will remain, and more courses will be added in future seasons. Here’s the official statement:
“Greetings heroes,
As we prepare for Season 11, we’ve evaluated various game modes based on player activity. Hero Mastery Gauntlet aimed to bring the excitement of Hero Mastery missions into a multiplayer format, but it hasn’t resonated with players as hoped. Consequently, we have decided to discontinue Hero Mastery Gauntlet starting in Season 11.
Players have until the end of Season 10 to complete the Lifetime Challenges for Hero Mastery Gauntlet and compete on the mode’s Top 500 leaderboards.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Gauntlet. Individual Hero Mastery Solo Courses will still be available, with more Solo Courses coming in future seasons. See you in-game!”
The Hero Mastery Gauntlet was introduced in March 2024, making its availability span just three months. While the mode faced criticism, its removal adds to the list of scrapped PvE content in Overwatch 2.
Previously, in May 2023, Blizzard announced the cancellation of the anticipated PvE Hero mode, which had been a major selling point for Overwatch 2 since its announcement. Director Aaron Keller apologized for this change, calling the mode an “exciting but gargantuan vision.”
Overwatch 2, which launched in 2022 as a sequel to the original hero shooter, has seen significant changes over the years. After ending the Overwatch League last year, Blizzard made all new heroes accessible to all players instead of locking them behind a premium battle pass. Season 10 fulfilled this promise by making all past heroes and the new Damage hero, Venture, available to everyone.
With 28 days left in the current season, players have just under a month to enjoy Hero Mastery Gauntlet before it’s gone. For more updates on Blizzard’s plans, you can read about the cancellation of BlizzCon 2024 and the new Overwatch 2 Porsche crossover event.
