At the largest video game fair in Germany, Gamescom, Blizzard also has a presence. And for Overwatch, Blizzard has made an announcement… announced. What can we expect?
When will the announcement come? Blizzard opens its presence at Gamescom 2018 on Wednesday, August 22 at 10:30 AM on the main stage. An hour later, the company says a big announcement for Overwatch will take place.
What will be announced in Overwatch?
There is currently no detailed information on what Blizzard wants to announce. However, speculation can be made. Last year, Mei’s backstory and the new map Junkertown were introduced.
A new map is likely: The announcement of a new map is most likely. Since Rialto, there has been no new map in Overwatch accessible for the regular game modes. Only Petra has been added as a Deathmatch map.
Rialto was released in May and is a payload map. Before that, Blizzard World, Junkertown, and the lunar colony Horizon were released. A control point map is now due, of which there are also the fewest together with attack maps.
Is a new story coming? Since a backstory for Mei was announced last year and Blizzard wants to engage more deeply with the lore, a new story seems likely.
Recently, lead writer Michael Chu announced that gameplay changes will also be integrated into new stories. With the massive rework on Symmetra, there would be enough reason for a new story.
Also, Wrecking Ball’s appearance would be a basis for new stories. The controlling hamster Hammond has a past together with Winston that can be told in many comics. New lore is therefore also very likely.
Very unlikely to be a new hero: It is unlikely that a new hero will appear. With Wrecking Ball, a new hero was released just a few weeks ago.
For another announcement or teaser about a new hero, Blizzard will probably rather save it for the upcoming Blizzcon. For their own convention in November, Blizzard usually reserves its biggest novelties.
What else could be coming
Blizzard is known to like to play with possibilities in their games and everything that happens around them. It is also possible that something completely different will be presented:
- A new mode: New modes are often found in the arcade of Overwatch. Jeff Kaplan did not rule out in a forum post that a battle royale mode could be introduced to the game.
- More esports: With the Overwatch League, the largest esports event of Overwatch has just ended. It attracted several hundred thousand viewers. That Blizzard may announce something new in the direction of esports is also possible.
- Maybe WoW after all? Blizzard loves references to other of their games. With Blizzard World, there was even a map that unites all Blizzard universes, Heroes of the Storm even makes heroes from all universes playable. After the new WoW expansion Battle for Azeroth, a crossover is therefore not excluded.
What do you think? What could Blizzard’s big announcement be? Let us know in the comments!
Do you want to know more about Gamescom and Blizzard? There is a “Blizzard at Gamescom 2018” app with schedule and contest.
