Overwatch Maps And Characters Will Be Free, Not DLC
Yeehaw!
I'm still a little surprised that Blizzard's class-based FPS Overwatch [official site] will be sold as a thing in a box you pay for with money up-front (£30/$40), rather than be free-to-play as I suppose I'd assumed. But hey, don't worry: it won't pull the usual Activision FPS post-launch monetisation antics. Blizzard have confirmed that they plan to add new heroes and maps for free, not in reams of paid DLC.
Game director Jeff Kaplan explained it all in a developer update video released this week. He explained that Blizzard think Overwatch's 21 current heroes are balanced, fun, and unique, but "we have ideas for additional maps and heroes that we'd like to add to the game. We thought about this and we decided the best way to add them to the game is to patch them in as free content and not as DLC."
He continued:
"We don't have an exact timeline of when new heroes will be added to the game - how soon after launch - or how many. That's something we really need to get a feel for - what's healthy for the game - so I don't have a lot of specific details there. We just know when we patch a new hero into the game we want it to be free and not as DLC."
Good-o! Judging by the contents of its many editions, Blizzard will likely sell cosmetic skins and pets and things, but sure, whatever, that's fine.
Hey, read what Pip thought after a quick go in the Overwatch beta. The full game's due in spring. Here's Jeff:
