Overwatch players have plenty to look forward to throughout 2017, with new Competitive Play seasons, special events, and constant refinements coming out of Blizzard HQ. The community can also look forward to new maps, with three new ones currently in the pipeline for release this year.
The last map added to the roster was Oasis, which has quickly become a fan favourite with its dynamic speeding cars, and jumping castle.
It’s frequently cycled through the Competitive Play lobby, and stands as a pivotal map for players to work their way up the CP ranks.
It will be replaced as the “new kid on the block” throughout 2017, with Blizzard confirming that new maps were on the way.
“We currently have 3 maps in development, all past the initial playtesting phase that are ‘standard’ maps (QP/Comp),” game director, Jeff Kaplan, said. “While something could always change, all 3 of those are looking likely for a release this year.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the Blizzard team approaches and implements the new maps. Will they feature a special gameplay feature like the jump pad?
Creating maps that appease both casual and pro players is important, and that’s a balance that obviously continues to challenge the Blizzard Overwatch team.
Interestingly, there’s also work on some additional maps that won’t slot into the Quick Play or Competitive Play modes, and will instead act as perhaps event maps, or elimination maps similar to what we got with Ecopoint Antartica.
“Hopefully this will satisfy some of what you’re looking for,” Kaplan said. “We want to play on these maps as badly as you guys do. We’ll work as fast as we can!”
We don’t know when these new maps will arrive, but they appear destined for release some time in 2017.
