Several maps are missing in Overwatch 2. But what happened to the popular maps? Are they coming back?
In the meantime, Overwatch 2 is running smoothly, and at least the server issues from the launch are becoming more and more forgotten. However, this has made some veterans notice other problems that exist – and even the lack of content. Many of the most popular maps have disappeared from Blizzard’s hero shooter, namely all “Assault” maps. This includes the fan-favorite Hanamura.
But other maps, such as Volskaya Industries, Temple of Anubis, Paris, and the Horizon Lunar Colony have also been removed from the game.
Why is Hanamura so popular? Hanamura, with its Japanese aesthetic, was not only a beautiful map for “proud weebs” but also for anyone who engaged with Overwatch’s story. Both heroes Hanzo and Genji lived in Hanamura, and one of the most well-known Overwatch cinematics took place on this map. Blizzard even incorporated many details back then, such as arrows or parts of the destruction that occurred in the cinematic. Additionally, Hanamura had very soft colors and was simply a visually pleasing sight.
The fact that Hanamura is considered an essential part of Overwatch’s DNA by many fans is also shown by a post in the Overwatch subreddit – there were more than 19,000 upvotes for the demand that Hanamura should return.
Why were the maps removed? This is primarily because the entire game mode “Assault” has been removed. All maps where two control points had to be captured one after the other are no longer part of the main game. The mode turned out to be not very enjoyable, especially in the competitive scene, and usually led to one of two scenarios:
Either there was a “snowball” effect, where one team captured both control points in very rapid succession, or there were prolonged “overtime” matches that had no end even after several minutes past the time.
Accordingly, this game mode fell from grace and was little fun for many, no matter how pretty the maps looked. In the “Push” maps, the battles are different; they shift to different places due to the moving payload.
Although Overwatch 2 is the sequel to the hero shooter, not all content made it into the successor. In particular, a larger portion of the original maps is no longer part of the rotation and has thus been effectively removed from the game.
Can the maps still be played? Yes, it is possible – at least partially. However, only in a “Custom Game,” that is, outside of the ranked or “Quick Match” mode, the maps are available except for “Temple of Anubis.” You must activate the “Assault” mode to access and play the old maps.
In all public game modes – which reward XP for the battle pass – the maps are no longer available.
Will Blizzard bring the maps back? That is likely, albeit in an altered form. In an interview with the magazine Polygon, Dion Rogers (Art Director) spoke weeks ago about Hanamura and the other maps, stating:
It was a difficult decision for us to lose these Assault maps. Hanamura was one of my favorite maps in the game, with the Japanese aesthetic and the arcade that you can destroy. We plan to reuse that in some way because it’s so deeply connected to the story of the game – just like the Temple of Anubis and Volskaya. […]
When we originally created the game, many maps had a direct connection to the story, so we hope to revisit them in some other way, especially Hanamura. Either as a new map with similar aesthetics or another area of Hanamura. There are some ideas. […]
But we really believe it would be better if these maps were part of the main game. We’ve already talked a lot about reusing these maps. We will create a new map with the same look.
It remains to be hoped that Overwatch 2 will bring these maps back with variations in the future since they were quite popular with many players.
Do you want to see the return of these maps? Or are you glad that these maps have disappeared from the current pool?
