It's an exciting time to be an Overwatch fan, as the long-awaited anniversary event is just around the corner. According to a new leak on the PlayStation store, the one-year celebration of Overwatch's release will be coming today alongside a range of exclusive new items and cosmetic rewards. Game Director Jeff Kaplan himself has also taken to the Battlenet forums to confirm that often over-looked characters Hanzo and Symmetra will be receiving skins when the update launches.

Since Overwatch's official anniversary takes place on May 24, this latest event will be launching just in time for the celebrations to begin and will last for three weeks. This gives players a chance to gather as many of the special event loot boxes as possible before they are locked until this time next year. A listing on the German PlayStation store confirms that the event will be starting at 17:00 CEST, which means the launch will occur at the following times:

  • 09:00 CST
  • 10:00 CDT
  • 08:00 PDT
  • 07:00 PST
  • 15:00 GMT
  • 17:00 CEST
  • 10:00 EST
  • 16:00 BST

If other events are anything to go by, there will be severe wait times for those fans who want to begin playing immediately, as the Overwatch servers come under immense pressure from players who are eager to get online and start collecting the event's unique skins. So far, it's been hard to distinguish a theme for the update skins, though a lot of people online are leaning towards a possible 'concept art' angle.

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A hopeful fan who posted on the Overwatch forums wanted to know if new Hanzo and Symmetra skins would finally be coming in the event, as each of the two characters seem to often be neglected by Blizzard. Game Director Jeff Kaplan personally answered the query, commenting simply: "we got you fam." It's these sort of interactions with the player-base that make the Overwatch team such a beloved developer, and we're excited to see what the update has to offer.

Also confirmed to be coming to the anniversary event are three new arena maps to join Ecopoint: Antarctica as being the battlegrounds for 1v1 and 3v3 gamemodes. It's unclear if the update will bring a new mode with it, but the areas will be a welcome addition to players' Arcade experience regardless.

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

Source: Reddit, Battle.net