‘Overwatch’ Blizzard World Map Releases Next Week Alongside New Items In Standard Loot Boxes
Blizzard Entertainment’s popular Overwatch mixes with the developer’s other franchises in an upcoming map for the FPS. The Blizzard World map is a virtual theme park featuring many of Blizzard’s properties like Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft. Scheduled to release in early 2018, the new assault/escort map and new standard loot box items are confirmed to release next week. The update will release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on January 23.
The Blizzard World map is currently on the public test realm letting players explore the upcoming content. Since late November, players have previewed and tested the map before its release. On January 16, Blizzard Entertainment notified players via the Overwatch account on Twitter that Blizzard World will release next week with routine maintenance.
Players will visit a few recognizable areas on the new map like the gates of Stormwind from Warcraft and New Tristram from Diablo. A Heroes of the Storm arcade, a Hearthstone tavern, and a StarCraft area are also located on the map. The attacking team begins their push in the tavern as they work toward the Warcraft area to start the payload. Moving the payload will take players to the StarCraft area first and reaches its destination in the Diablo portion of the map.
In addition to the Blizzard World map, players can also expect a plethora of new items in standard loot boxes after the maintenance next week. Many new crossover skins for Overwatch characters are included like Torbjörn as Magni Bronzebeard and Widowmaker as Nova. There are several new skins, emotes, and even highlight introductions coming to the game. Some of the new skins can be previewed in the image above, but the game director noted on the official forums that there are more skins that fans have yet to see.
After the release of Blizzard World on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next week, Overwatch will welcome a new hero soon. Not to mention, the Lunar New Year event is on its way in honor of the Year of the Dog. The returning event is likely to occur well before hero 27 is released, but news on the hero is forthcoming. As the Inquisitr reported, more is scheduled throughout the year for the FPS like the Uprising event with new features. In May, the Anniversary event will reappear giving Overwatch players a chance to pick up characters’ dance emotes again.
