In a recent “Year in Review” video for Blizzard’s Overwatch, director Jeff Kaplan discussed plans for 2017 and what players could look forward to for the future.
Along with more events, some which will be themed on holidays and others that will be more surprising, Kaplan said the new map Oasis was on track for release in early 2017. More maps are coming though they’re fairly experimental at this stage and new modes are also on the cards.
It’s worth noting that though more heroes are being designed, only one is looking “promising” and moving through the art design process. Doomfist, perhaps? As it stands, many of the heroes being created are prototypes and may never see release. Speaking of heroes, Blizzard is also looking into balancing Sombra, though it will wait to see how her overall usage and mastery pans out before testing out its tweaks.
In 2017, the team will look to update the communication wheel to support up to four emotes and voice lines at a time. A server browser for Custom Games is also being looked at and it seems an early version will arrive next year in the initial months.