Since Blizzard Entertainment first teased the public with news of Overwatch 2 during the company's 2019 BlizzCon, not a lot of information has been shared about the competitive FPS sequel. As rumors about delays in development seem to be circulating online, the development team may have recently dropped fans a strong clue that a future Overwatch 2 map may be based on a specific city in Poland.
Players are hoping that 2021 will be the year of Overwatch 2, even though fans continue to play the original title, and share so much player-created content such as impressive Overwatch character cosplays. However, with close to two years since its announcement, expectations for an official launch date, and for more Overwatch 2 animated shorts to close out character stories, are at an all-time high. This may be the reason why the development team was kind enough to give a generous hint for fans to pick up on in a recent interview.
Posted on the official Overwatch website, a small team of developers talked about Overwatch's recently rolled-out death match map, Kanezaka. In the interview, senior lighting artist Fabien Christin, senior level designer Morten Hedegren, and senior artist Thiago Klafke were briefly asked what location they would take inspiration from if they were to create a new Overwatch map. Christin and Hedegren were quick to point out that fans should wait and see when Overwatch 2 finally launches. But Klafke gave a surprisingly specific answer, and said that he would choose to replicate Poland, particularly the city of Kraków.
Talking about Kraków's seemingly well-preserved and unique medieval architecture, Klafke points out that the city has beautiful plazas and open spaces, mixed with interesting colors and shapes. This can mean that the city's landscape and overall design may be a perfect match for Overwatch's fast-paced, competitive gameplay.
In the interview, the team also delved into the details of designing Kanezaka, the latest map in Overwatch. Mainly influenced by the popular cities of Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan, the team worked hard to create a dynamic mix of traditional and modern architecture within the map. With the team's tendency to take inspiration from well-known locations around the world, this may be a good hint that a future map based off of Poland is truly in the works for Overwatch 2.
However, fans should take this interview with a grain of salt. Without any official announcements from Blizzard, all these developer hints can still be considered as simple speculation. With the game's director Jeff Kaplan confirming an Overwatch 2 update in February 2021, fans will have to wait until the company officially confirms the truth behind these rumors.
Overwatch 2 is currently in development for unspecified platforms.
Source: Overwatch Official Site