Overwatch’s next hero is being tested, says Blizzard
Year of the Doggo
Overwatch, aka The Shooter You Proposed To In A Fit Of Passionate Desperation And Who Rejected You, has had its 2018 plans roughly drawn onto a napkin by game director Jeff Kaplan. By that I mean there's been another developer update video. The 27th hero is going through “internal testing”, he says, but we are to receive no more information about this shooty man/woman/robot just yet, nor are we told when to expect the new hero. “The release date is less important to us than getting the hero right,” he says.
Here’s the update in full. It’s more or less a round-up of last year’s additions (like the introduction of heroes Doomfist, Orisa and Moira) along with a reassurance that, yes, they are still pressing buttons on their Overwatch machines.
All that’s said of the new fighter is that they are “very needed”. I have been absent from Overwatch too long to know what gaps exist in the fiery cocktail of stratagems and team compositions but perhaps they are making a hero that dissolves the mouse and keyboard of any player who selects Genji. That could work.
They’re also looking at future heroes, beyond this one, says Kaplan, as well as working on their esports scene. Blizzard set up the Overwatch League in the summer of last year, introducing teams from the US and Asia as well as London.
More animated shorts and comics are also coming up, he says, which is no great surprise. Likewise, there’s going to be another event for the Lunar New Year. Last year it was the Year of the Rooster and this time it’s the Year of the Dog. There’ll be other events too, as expected, including some continuation of last year’s PvE Uprising do-dad. A lot of previous events will be repeated too, giving players another chance to get any time-limited skins they missed.
In other words, it’s a vague round-up vlog with no concrete news. But you were just sitting there rocking back and forth wondering why Jeff hadn’t said hello to you for three whole weeks, so I thought I should put you out of your misery.