The online shooter Overwatch hasn’t received any major changes for some time. The community expressed concern in the forums that the status of the game is deteriorating. A response from Jeff Kaplan himself now offers hope.
What happened? Some players have discussed in the US forums what is currently going on with Overwatch and what the game needs. Topics have been created titled: “Devs, do something! The game is dying” and discussions about needed new content for the test server have emerged.
In one of these threads, Overwatch lead Jeff Kaplan even responded personally and announced that a new patch and a “cool little surprise” are already in the works.
When will it all be released? According to Kaplan, the next PTR patch with changes and the surprise is expected to be released next week, on January 8, 2019.
Is Overwatch getting what it needs?
This is the criticism: Players are criticizing primarily that Overwatch simply isn’t fun anymore. The status of the game is poor. The members also reference videos by YouTubers who share their impressions.
Overwatch is not dead, but there are indeed some criticisms. Fans mention, among other things:
- the events are always recycled
- the meta isn’t changing
- the report system isn’t working properly
User thatdudetony also points out that professionals no longer want to play the game, even though the second season of the Overwatch League hasn’t even started yet. Additionally, there is a lack of new content.
This is what Kaplan says: Kaplan reacted to the thread that addressed the lack of content. The thread itself was about how the next PTR patch needed to come soon, or it would interfere with the New Year’s event.
Kaplan responded that the next patch is expected to arrive next week and would bring balance changes as well as a surprise:
We have been working on a balance patch this week. We hope to bring the patch to the PTR next week. The last time I said that, we were late and everyone flipped out. So please don’t flip out if it doesn’t happen… that’s just how it goes.
Also, there is a cool little surprise coming next week. Exciting!
(Sorry, no details at this time, as changes are still ongoing… the PTR will get patch notes when it’s ready. No dev update.)
Is a new map coming to Overwatch?
This is what the community suspects: Kaplan’s post heated up the rumor mill about upcoming nerfs, buffs, and the surprise. Regarding the balance changes, there are mainly speculations for buffs of current meta counters like Junkrat and Reaper. However, larger reworks shouldn’t be expected.
The surprise is mostly thought by fans to be a new map.
Kaplan stated before Blizzcon 2018 that a new map is something special that shouldn’t be announced at a Blizzcon. Both the timing and the statement coincide with a new map. Only the wording of a “cool little surprise” bothers some users.
The second possibility that is frequently mentioned is the “Overwatch Replay Viewer”. This allows you to watch games afterwards from many angles and settings. According to a report by thebenchmob in December 2018, this feature is not yet ready for implementation.
What do you think? What will the surprise be and what will the patch bring?
Overwatch is making an effort to keep the game interesting continuously. But it’s hard:
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