Players have been wondering for quite a while what happened to one of the maps in Overwatch . Blizzard responded and only caused more confusion, before another answer then provided clarity.
What happened to Numbani? Numbani had been unplayable for several weeks. Players repeatedly noticed and reported this independently. Numbani seemed to be removed from all game modes:
- Competitive
- Quick Play
- even Arcade modes like Mystery Heroes
The map suddenly became unavailable without warning. Apparently, Numbani was removed at the same time as the release of the new Archive event “Storm Signs” on April 16.
Now, however, with the introduction of the new map Havana on May 7, Numbani is suddenly back in the map rotation for all modes.
This is what Blizzard said: In the official forums, Overwatch developer Dan Maas spoke up. He explained the absence of Numbani as follows:
Since the arrival of Efi and Orisa in Numbani, some minor edits and maintenance in the Overwatch universe have been necessary. We have neglected this maintenance lately and service in Numbani has been interrupted. However, with the arrival of sunny Havana, service in Numbani has resumed (as it was before).
We appreciate the observant eyes of the community that noticed this and apologize for the delay.
Please continue to enjoy your Kofis Aromo and thank you for your patience!
Dan Maas in the official forums
This is how the fans reacted: This response caused even more confusion for many players than the disappearance of Numbani itself. Fans did not know what this response meant and suspected some revisions.
Among these was the suspicion that the changes to Numbani were reversed by the emergence of Doomfist. The entire airport was devastated by Doomfist. However, that still remains the case now.
Other fans suspected story or technical developments as teasers for one of the new heroes or other events. However, most agreed that the response did not explain much.
This is the true reason: The US site Kotaku asked Blizzard about this reaction. Shortly afterward, a representative replied, stating:
Dan was simply a bit cheeky. Numbani was no longer in the rotation because there were some technical issues. Nothing else. Apologies for the confusion.
A Blizzard representative to Kotaku
So apparently there was really no hidden message behind the original response.
Will things still change in the future?
