Blizzard has shared an official blog post explaining the philosophy behind Overwatch 2's map and level design.
Our Team in the shipmentused examples from four different maps: New Queen Street (Toronto), Colosseo (Rome), Midtown (New York City) and Circuit Royal (Monte Carlo) to show how they combine a strong and thematic art direction. All four of these maps will be available to players in beta testing starting April 26.
The new Queen Street and Colosseo maps will be used in the new Push mode, where players must work together to push a robot from the middle of the map to the end of a path.
Game director Aaron Keller described Push Mode as "naturally more brisk than other game modes." He also said that Push maps are easier to flank and heroes should be ready for attacks from all sides while accompanying their robots. Although both sides of push maps are the same in terms of path, each side will have unique art, color schemes, and other elements for them.
Midtown, a Hybrid map, and Circuit Royal, an Escort map, takes more detail than the built-in Overwatch maps. The Visual designs of the maps add big dots and flow features to guide players to reach the goals. Apart from game design, art also has a heavy hand on these maps, making players feel like they've stepped into an artistic realm while experiencing the "Golden Age". Each map draws on many different inspirations, including local culture, historical periods, and art styles, for players to be constantly entertained to look at and play with.
Overwatch 2's PvP beta begins April 26.
