Overwatch Reveals New Map Eichenwalde
By Dalton Cooper 22 August 2016
At Gamescom 2016, Blizzard releases a trailer for Overwatch‘s first post-launch map, a German village called Eichenwalde that features a large castle.
Sony and Microsoft may be skipping Gamescom this year, but that doesn’t mean the show is without exciting news. Overwatch fans especially have reason to be excited about Gamescom, as it was at the event that Blizzard revealed the game’s first post-launch map, Eichenwalde, which is set in an abandoned village on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany.
The new Eichenwalde map for Overwatch will be an Assault/Escort hybrid. Players on offense will attempt to take control of a battering ram, escort it to Eichenwalde Castle, and use it to smash their way inside. The castle itself appears to be quite large, as is the village surrounding it, meaning that gamers will have sizable exterior and interior environments to explore while playing on this new map.
Like all future DLC maps and characters, the Eichenwalde map for Overwatch will be free for all players. This may surprise some, but Blizzard realizes that by putting a paywall on maps, it would risk splitting the community, so instead it is hoping to make some extra cash from Overwatch by selling cosmetic microtransactions.
At this point, it’s unclear when the Eichenwalde map will be made available for Overwatch. Right now, Blizzard is busy wrapping up the first season of Competitive Play, and is hard at work tweaking the mode for the second season that is scheduled to begin at some point in the next few weeks. That’s on top of all the other work the company is doing to support the popular game, such as fixing bugs, balancing characters, and more.
In the meantime, fans can study the trailer for potential clues as to what the future holds for Overwatch. Eagle-eyed fans have already discovered some Easter Eggs in the Eichenwalde trailer, such as Diablo demon horns mounted on the wall in one of the village homes, and there’s likely plenty more secrets to find as well. While we can’t say for certain, there is a possibility that the trailer for the Eichenwalde map even contains clues regarding Sombra, said to be the game’s next DLC character.
Dissecting the Eichenwalde trailer should keep fans busy while they wait for the map’s official launch, probably within the next couple of months. Based on the trailer, it looks like it will be a substantial addition to the game, and should go a long way in providing more map variety for Overwatch enthusiasts.
Overwatch is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: PlayOverwatch
