Blizzard says Overwatch 2 map collections will disappear from Season 4, telling the multiplayer FPS community, “You were right. We were wrong.” The change will also see adjustments made to frequency mapping in tournaments, with the aim of addressing push maps that appear more often than other types. While this change to the Overwatch 2 maps won’t be here on the Season 3 release date, it’s arriving in Season 4, with more tweaks planned after that.
Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller shared a blog on Blizzard’s website — the latest in the team’s planned effort in Overwatch 2 developer’s most frequent updates to keep the community in the loop — talking about his plans for the maps moving forward. Keller admits, “Player sentiment around map groups has been pretty low, the map roster doesn’t have enough maps where we really need them, and their impact on seasonal identity is fairly low.”
as, Overwatch 2 map groups will be completely removed from the start of Season 4. In response to a query on Twitter, Keeler Add That this change didn’t make it into the Season 3 build, which was already closed before the decision was made to remove the pools, and for that reason won’t arrive until the next season.
Additionally, Keeler notes that the planned cadence of maps rotating in and out of the complex was affected by the time frame of the mods. The Escort map of Gibraltar, for example, “was supposed to come back in Season 4 but the playtesting and iterations we were doing of the map started to question the deadline.”
And Keller adds that some potential map modifications are in the works, again pointing to Gibraltar as an example. “Have you ever started defending in Gibraltar before reaching the first live checkpoint and wondering if you could make it back to your team alive without getting caught outside the spawn? This problem has been going on for a long time,” he explains. The team aims to find “solutions that don’t require changes to the map” but will consider them if necessary. Keeler notes that these changes probably won’t arrive by Season 4 but are in the works.
Map frequency is also taken up in courses. The game doesn’t favor one map after another, Keeler says, but “there’s a detail to the matching system that cranks up the pay maps a little bit,” causing them to appear a bit repetitive. This is then compounded by the fact that there are fewer payout maps than there are other game modes, which means those maps are likely to pop up more often. He reassures the players, “We are looking for a way to mitigate this, targeted for a future season.”
Overwatch 2 is a new game mode
Interestingly, Keller also teases that this rotation will be important “considering that we have another new game mode with new maps scheduled for a seasonal release later this year.” No details yet on exactly what this situation will entail, but it’s good news nonetheless. Personally, I was a big fan of the back-and-forth dynamic, but it definitely isn’t to everyone’s taste, so more ways to play is always fun.
Finally, Keeler records a short conversation about the challenges of the event. Speaking to Overwatch 2’s Lunar New Year’s event, he noted, “The event’s challenges focused very heavily on playing the game mode in the event.” He states that Blizzard has “changed our values here,” with plans to “include more challenges that let you play the way you like, while still offering event game modes.” These changes will make their way into Overwatch 2 Season 3, though Keller notes that more changes may be made “if it doesn’t feel right.”
As the new season approaches, be sure to update your Overwatch 2 tier list so you know the best characters in the current meta, along with refreshing your knowledge of how the competitive Overwatch 2 rank works. Season 3 is also set to see the arrival of Overwatch 2’s new map of the Antarctic Peninsula. If you just can’t get enough of the real-world competition, we’ve got more of the best multiplayer games on PC to keep you challenged.
