One of the nice surprises at last year's BlizzCon event was the announcement that Overwatch would be receiving a brand new map in the form of Blizzard World. Initially pegged for a vague release of early 2018, we now know the exact release date for the game's latest map.

As announced by the Overwatch Twitter page, Blizzard World will be releasing across all platforms on January 23. The map will feature a variety of areas themed after some of Blizzard's biggest franchises, including DiabloStarCraft, and World of Warcraft. It's an Assault/Escort map, meaning players will want to stay on the payload if they hope to win, so hopefully they don't get too distracted by Blizzard World's many Easter Eggs.

Blizzard World goes live next week, and is just the first big update planned for Overwatch in 2018. Blizzard has teased that 2018 will see plenty of new content released for its hero-based shooter, so fans have plenty to look forward to this year.

Not long after Blizzard World is added on January 23, a Chinese New Year event should kick off in February. Last year's Chinese New Year event was themed after the Year of the Rooster, and its big new feature was the addition of a Capture the Flag mode, along with the usual batch of new skins. If the most recent Overwatch events are any indication, this year's Chinese New Year event should feature skins for characters that were overlooked last year.

Overwatch fans can expect Blizzard to run a number of limited-time events throughout the year, ranging from returning events to brand new ones. Players can also look forward to more substantial content, namely in the form of the game's next hero, who Jeff Kaplan has teased will completely change Overwatch's meta.

It will be interesting to learn more about Overwatch's 27th hero and see exactly how they change up the game. With Moira just recently being added to the roster a few months ago, though, it's hard to say when we will actually get to see the new hero in action. Hopefully the addition of Blizzard World and the various planned events for the game keep fans satisfied in the meantime.

Overwatch is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.