Overwatch sets itself apart from other shooters with its diverse roster of characters, and its focus on teamwork and class-based gameplay through unique abilities (as well as its annual Summer Games). So, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when the game launched last year with only tactical team-focused game modes, like Escort and Assault, while lacking the classic shooter game modes: FFA and Deathmatch.
But now, Blizzard has announced that these quintessential game modes will finally be coming to Overwatch. While the quick play and competitive playlists will still only contain the typical objective-focused game types, players will now be able to go full slayer-mode in both Regular and Team Deathmatch in the Arcade. As with every other major Overwatch announcement, Jeff Kaplan and the dev team have released a new Developer Update video, which gives more details on the new modes, and explains why it took so long for them to arrive in the game.
Deathmatch will be an 8-player free-for-all, which goes until one player reaches 20 points. Players earn 1 point by scoring the killing blow on an opponent (no half points for dropping them from 100% to 1% hp if someone else finishes them), and lose 1 point if they die to environmental or self-inflicted damage. This scoring will be tracked in an all-new scoreboard.
Team Deathmatch will also be an 8-player matchup, with two teams of 4 going head-to-head, and will conclude when one team reaches the max score of 30 points. Similar to FFA, players earn 1 point for their team whenever they kill an opponent and lose 1 point for their team whenever they die to environmental damage or by their own hand. If a player is resurrected before their respawn, perhaps by the hand of a friendly Mercy, the point earned by the enemy team for their death is deducted, as though it never happened.
The new modes will come alongside a brand new map made specially for Deathmatch: Château Guillard. The Château is a fancy estate in France, and is also the home of Widowmaker. In addition to the new map, the new deathmatch modes will be playable on these existing maps:
- Hanamura
- Horizon Lunar Colony
- Temple of Anubis
- Volskaya Industries
- Dorado
- Eichenwalde
- Hollywood
- King’s Row
- (TDM only) Black Forest
- (TDM only) Castillo
- (TDM only) Ecopoint: Antarctica
- (TDM only) Necropolis
The new Deathmatch update is playable now on the Overwatch PTR for PC, with the full update expected to port to other systems in the near future.