[Update #2]: Overwatch's big Anniversary 2021 update is launching on May 18th!

[Update]: Overwatch is looking to bring in some nerfs for Baptiste, Echo and Reinhardt.

After being announced a mere two days ago, Overwatch's annual Archives event has now been unleashed. Much like before, it brings with it a whole host of co-op missions to undertake, a variety of fancy cosmetics to add to the already enormous pile, as well as three weekly challenges that reward some nifty epic-rarity skins.

Unfortunately, it seems that my speculation that this event will be used as a testing ground for Overwatch 2 mechanics has ended up entirely false. So not only are we not getting a bunch of wacky new mutators to help spice up the PvE missions, but the three we have received are incredibly basic and don't really change much. While I understand the team is busy with Overwatch 2 and probably couldn't spare much time for the original, this is still a paltry offering for what is usually Overwatch's most exciting event.

That disappointing note aside, I can't be too mad as the PvE missions are still remarkably fun to play around with, especially once you move onto the higher difficulty levels. So if Overwatch 2 can build upon these concepts and polish them to a mirror sheen, all of the sacrifices the original has had to endure will be well worth it.

As for the current Archives event, it will be running until April 27, so make sure to dive in and play the co-op missions to your heart's content before they go away again. And just for good measure, I'll leave you with the newest trailer highlighting the various cosmetics and above-mentioned mission mutators. Enjoy!