The Overwatch Winter Wonderland 2020 event has officially begun, and players were only expecting Blizzard to add festive skins and a new game mode in celebration of the holiday-themed event. However, the official Overwatch Twitter account announced a surprise a few hours ago in the form of a brand-new deathmatch map called Kanezaka.
While we don’t doubt that the developer is currently focusing all their time and efforts into working on Overwatch 2, fans of the franchise will definitely be pleased to know that the first iteration will still be receiving a bit of support.
For the first time in quite a while now, a new map has been added to Overwatch which offers Deathmatch players another option when it comes to which map they want to play on. Kanezaka will also be available even when players want to pass the time while waiting in queue, so the addition of this new map is definitely something to be excited about.
https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/1339284572106674177?s=20
Included in Overwatch’s tweet is a video showcasing the map, as well as confirmation from Blizzard that the new area is “now testing on the PTR.” Those players who want to assist the developer in ensuring that the new map will work smoothly upon its official release can go ahead and try out Kanezaka on Overwatch’s public test realm.
Another reason why playing on the PTR is advantageous to players is because this gives them the chance to think of map strategies that ensure victory before the other players who want to wait until the map is publicly released.
Since Kanezaka will only be available on Deathmatch, it most likely won’t stay in the testing phase for long. In other words, it won’t be long before Overwatch players will be able to explore every nook and cranny of the new map.
Based on the short video of Kanezaka, we can see that the new map offers a lot. The map, which is set in Japan, was created with the country’s “rich history” in mind. When exploring the location, players will easily notice the majestic trees and the skyscraping buildings. In addition, each area of Kanezaka was able to capture the familiar style that other Overwatch maps have.
Blizzard Entertainment was able to create a beautiful blend of both Busan and Hanamura, and some Overwatch heroes e.g. Hanzo look like they’ll fit right in this new place. According to the official tweet, Kanezaka also features interesting establishments.
There’s reportedly a “seedy nightclub” that players will most likely get to explore and destroy with their special abilities. Not only that, but the developer also confirms that a cat cafe will be present, which will surely please the support hero Brigitte whom we know to be a cat lover.
Unfortunately, the cat cafe doesn’t have any living cats roaming around, but the area is adorned with scratching posts and cat towers that allude to their existence.
It’s been a while since Blizzard released a decent amount of content for Overwatch. It’s safe to say that with the new map and the Winter Wonderland 2020 event, players are going to be busy this December.
