Overwatch 2 executive producer Jared Neuss teases the potential return of the Hanamura map albeit with a few tweaks and changes to better fit the current style of the game. As a liver service title, Overwatch 2 is constantly evolving and adding in new content to keep players invested and logging in day after day. The biggest example is the switch to a seasonal model in Overwatch 2, which adds in a new themed battle pass, cosmetic skins, and more often than not, a new hero for players to unlock and try out.
However, one of the biggest changes looming on the horizon is the arrival of the PvE mode called Flashpoint in Season 6. While it isn't exactly what Blizzard was envisioning a few years ago, Flashpoint focuses in on story missions to help flesh out the world as a group of players team up to take on enemies on much larger maps. While Season 6, also known as Invasion, introduces two new PvP maps called New Junk City and Suravasa, players continue to wait for the return of older fan favorites that were ultimately removed from the game at launch. To that end, Blizzard's Jared Neuss may have some good news.
While taking part in an interview with Emongg on Twitch, Overwatch 2 executive producer Jared Neuss provided some insight into what the team was working on prior to the Season 6 update. Specifically, Neuss commented on past content and how to effectively bring them back in some capacity. Hanamura, a fan favorite Capture Point map from the original Overwatch, remains high on the team's list, and they continue to look for ways to integrate it back into the core Overwatch 2 experience.
It's worth noting that even though Hanamura remains high on the Overwatch 2 teams wish list, and the example the team uses internally, there are no immediate plans. However, it stands to reason that Hanamura could be used and tweaked to become a Flashpoint map in some capacity, bringing that world back into the game in a new and fresh way. Neuss remains confident that the old assault maps like Hanamura will eventually make their way back into Overwatch 2 even as the team seeks to create a version that's "as dope as the original was."
Will we bring those 2CP maps back? That’s not something we want to do right away. But will we use the things that people loved, the kits effectively, from those maps, in other ways, yeah, absolutely.
While fans were initially upset over the removal of classic assault maps when Overwatch 2 launched, Blizzard has proven it can find new ways to incorporate them back in. During Season 4, Horizon Lunar Colony made a surprise return as a reworked version for the story-centric Galactic Rescue event. The map featured a handful of new details and variations, but was largely kept the same as longtime fans remembered it.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Twitch
