Overwatch will receive a revamped mode for colorblind players. The announcement has brought at least one affected individual to tears of joy.
More colors for colorblind players: In the last Developer Update from September 2018, Overwatch head Jeff Kaplan made several announcements. One of them is that Overwatch will receive a new mode for colorblind players, which is currently being tested on the PTR.
This announcement moved streamer Kolorblind so much that he cried tears of joy during his livestream.
Better gaming experience for colorblind players
What is changing? Kaplan stated that there will be “significant improvements.” The old system worked for some colorblind players, but many still had issues.
The development team now has the opportunity to make color adjustments to the silhouettes of characters and some elements of the interface. According to Kaplan, the developer of this feature is himself colorblind. A lot of collaboration has been done with the colorblind community during development.
In the colorblind mode, options will be available in the future to select colors that can be distinguished by those affected. This will also make it easier for colorblind players to differentiate between friends and enemies in the future.
One of the reasons Kaplan mentions for the new possibilities is the work on eSports and the Overwatch League. In competitive gaming, it is important that all players have fair conditions. In the Overwatch League, the player TviQ from Florida Mayhem is colorblind.
There could be more to come: Kaplan emphasized in the update that these innovations could lay the groundwork for more. They could be further developed and improved.
The revamped feature is not the end of development, but a “great next step” to ensure that colorblindness no longer feels as disadvantageous. For those affected, like Kolorblind, the change is evidently a great cause for joy.
Changes to heroes and skins: In addition to the new colorblind mode, several heroes will be overhauled:
- Torbjörn will receive a complete rework
- Pharah will be adjusted
- and shields of all heroes will be changed, which is why Reinhardt is disabled on the PTR due to a bug.
Kaplan also spoke about the upcoming Halloween event 2018, which is expected to start on October 9th or 16th. You can find out which heroes will probably receive new skins in our special feature on this.
