Jeff Kaplan has recently detailed the new Overwatch events, which will be released in celebration of the game’s upcoming two-year anniversary. The additions include a new character, map, and items.
The new map is a theme park based on various Blizzard franchises. There are several Easter eggs scattered throughout for players to find, and new gameplay features that Blizzard has yet to try out will be showcased within this map.
The upcoming Lunar New Year event is based on the Chinese Year of the Dog, and while teased, will only be detailed in the near future. Kaplan states that there will be some very particular changes made to Overwatch during this event, and is to be based on the feedback received from previous events.
Of one of the most monumental game-changing additions is the teasing of a new character, who is tentatively referred to by the name Hero 27. This new character is already in internal testing, but no specification of what to expect was provided. Kaplan has noted that a release date for this character will not be given, as they are prioritizing optimization over a quick reveal.
Players can also expect myriad new content added to the base loot boxes within this new update. This will contain new items without the worry of any of the time constraints, as opposed to the usual loot boxes that appear during events.
A specific date for this launch has not been released, but Kaplan did indicate that the new world map will be launched “very soon.”