Overwatch's Lunar New Year special event returns this Thursday and is bringing new changes to the game in addition to the expected seasonal content. Blizzard is calling this year's event "Year of the Dog," and the game's lead designer, Jeff Kaplan, discussed everything Overwatch fans will want to know in the days leading up to it.

Overwatch events usually introduce new skins and other cosmetics themed around the event. Last year's event, Year of the Rooster, was themed after Journey to the West and introduced several skins influenced by the classic Chinese novel. A temporary game type called Capture the Rooster, a capture the flag variant, was also included.

Like last year's event, Year of the Dog will be adding capture the flag back into the mix, but will be doing so with a couple of important additions and changes. The first addition is a brand new map, dubbed "Ayutthaya," which has been designed from the ground up as a capture the flag map. The other major addition is a sudden death mechanic.

According to Kaplan, instead of letting a match end in a draw, this mechanic will kick-in and move both teams' flags closer to the center of the map. Play will then resume and neither team will have to travel very far in order to score.

The mode's rule set has undergone some changes as well. Picking up the flag is now instant, and activating any abilities that either make the player invulnerable or provide a large movement boost will cause the flag to be dropped. Kaplan calls these abilities "restricted abilities," and goes on to say that these changes have resulted in a game mode that is much faster and action-packed than its previous iteration.

The Overwatch team is so satisfied with the results that they've decided to hold a four-week long competitive season for the multiplayer mode. Placing in the competitive version of capture the flag will net players a special spray and player icon. Placing in the top 500 will also yield a unique player icon and spray.

Kaplan also took this opportunity to announce the Year of the Dog event will be live for a total of four weeks; a change that he said was made in order to better accommodate those who have to travel during Lunar New Year.

This can only be good news for those looking to spend time with the new game mode and hopefully net one of six brand-new legendary skins being added for Year of the Dog. Kaplan didn't list all the heroes that would be getting skins, but he did mention that both Mercy and Genji were on that list. He also said that at least one hero would be getting a new highlight intro as part of the new cosmetic content being introduced.

With all the nerfs Mercy has suffered lately, some players will likely be disappointed that one of the new skins added to their loot boxes will be going to a much less usable hero. On the other hand, the newly updated capture the flag mode could very well overshadow that disappointment. If the game type does indeed prove to be a success among players, then perhaps the Overwatch team will be encouraged to let it loose more than once a year.

Overwatch is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.