Overwatchis in the middle of its annual Summer Games event, which gives fans the chance to unlock seasonal cosmetics and play thelimited-time Lucioball game mode. It seems fans were also going to be treated to a new Deathmatch map, Malevento, but its announcement was apparently pulled at the last minute due to the ongoing Activision Blizzard sexual harassment lawsuit controversy.
For the uninitiated, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing hasfiled a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, citing numerous alleged instances of sexual harassment gender discrimination. Since the lawsuit came to light, Activision Blizzard has issued an official statement but has otherwise stayed quiet on social media platforms. It seems that the original plan was for the newOverwatchDeathmatch map Malevento to be announced and released in the PTR today with an official launch on August 17, but those plans have since been pushed back.
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TheOverwatchMalevento map came to light thanks to a now-deleted post by Dexerto that was spotted by Eurogamer. Available in theOverwatchDeathmatch mode that’s separate from Quick Play and Competitive, Malevento is set in Italy and is a daytime map. Its addition will mark the first newOverwatchmap in seven months, with the previous release being fellowOverwatchDeathmatch map Kanezaka.
It’s unclear whenOverwatchwill be adding the Malevento map. As it stands, Activision Blizzard has remained mostly quiet about the ongoing controversy, and considering the severe public backlash it’s currently experiencing, it’s hard to say when any of its social media accounts might start posting again. One has to imagine that the new map will hitOverwatch’s PTRonce the radio silence ends for an official release a couple of weeks later, but it’s also possible that Blizzard will stay firm with the August 17 release date, regardless of how long it has to test it with the community.
In the meantime,Overwatchfans may be less concerned about new content for the original game and more interested in learning 2. While it was originally believed to be launching this year, theOverwatch 2release date is in limbo, with the game pushed back to 2022 at the earliest. There’s been some turmoil behind the scenes, like game director Jeff Kaplan leaving the development team, and so it’s possible that this lawsuit combined with high profile Blizzard departures could pushOverwatch 2’s release date back even further. However, that’s just speculation at this time.
Overwatchis out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
