When Overwatch 2 goes reside in October, veteran Overwatch gamers will discover that a couple of maps — Hanamura, Volskaya, and Temple of Anubis, particularly — will successfully disappear from the sport. Those three Assault-type maps received’t be a part of the traditional rotation in fast play and aggressive video games, as Blizzard is transferring away from the contentious recreation sort and bringing a brand new mode, Push, to Overwatch 2.

While some Overwatch gamers will breathe a sigh of aid that Assault maps (aka 2CP maps) are being phased out for Overwatch 2, maps like Hanamura have sturdy ties to the narrative of Overwatch, notably for heroes Hanzo and Genji.

In a roundtable interview with Overwatch builders, artwork director Dion Rogers mentioned that the studio hopes to convey maps like Hanamura again, ultimately, however in a really totally different type.

“It was a tough decision for us to lose the Assault maps,” Rogers mentioned. “Hanamura being considered one of personally my favourite maps within the recreation, with the Japanese aesthetic and arcade that you simply destroy. We do plan to reuse this indirectly as a result of it’s linked to the lore a lot — [just like] Temple of Anubis and Volskaya.

“When we initially built the game, a lot of the maps were directly related to the lore, so we’re hoping to revisit [them], especially Hanamura, in some way, as either a new map that uses a similar aesthetic or another section of Hanamura. There’s a bunch of ideas.”

Rogers famous that Overwatch 2 gamers will nonetheless be capable to entry Assault maps in customized video games, however not within the well-liked fast play and aggressive recreation sorts.

“But we really think it’s better if they were a part of the key maps in the game,” Rogers mentioned. “So we definitely talked a lot about how to reuse those maps. We will rebuild a new map but with the same aesthetics.”