Although Overwatch has arguably been one of the most popular shooters since its release in 2016 – it managed to become Blizzard's fastest growing franchise, for instance – the title has yet to officially receive the granddaddy of all FPS modes: Deathmatch. That all is about to change, however, as the game's developer has finally announced the decision to include Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch alongside a new map built specifically for Deathmatch called Château Guillard, which are all available to experience now in the Public Test Region (PTR).

As explained by game director Jeff Kaplan in the latest Overwatch developer update video found below, the core Free-for-All mode is simply called Deathmatch, which involves an an eight-way battle to the death with the winning spot being given to the first player to get 20 kills in a match, and the top four ranking players getting win credits toward their Arcade loot box. Similar to the Free-for-All mode, Team Deathmatch will be a 6v6 competition to 30 total kills.

In order to make the Deathmatch modes work in Overwatch, Blizzard has modified several existing maps so as to give players a more enjoyable experience while trying to hit the objective of reaching the highest kill count. Plus, the aforementioned Château Guillard has not only been teased as having "great gameplay" thanks to lots of "jump pads" and "open areas" for Pharah to use for flight, and "tight Reaper corridors," but also its story and artwork is engaging as well, for it was originally home to Amélie Lacroix (AKA Widowmaker).

Bearing all of this in mind, although Blizzard hasn't revealed an exact date as to when Overwatch players should expect Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch to leave the PTR, most fans will likely be elated that such foundational core gameplay modes are finally coming to the game. While quirky limited time elements such as the Summer Games Event manage to make the title stand apart from its competitors, having standard Deathmatch modes as well will allow it to cater to an even broader audience, which will surely lead to even more success in the future.

Overwatch is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: PlayOverwatch – YouTube