BlizzCon Showcases Overwatch Additions as Co-Founder Rejoins Company

BlizzCon is a celebratory event for many Blizzard fans, and 2016 looks to be no different. We’ve kicked off this year with a bang, one focused largely on the smash-hit FPS Overwatch.

Blizzard quickly showed off a new Overwatch map after revealing that Sombra will finally be making her way to the game soon. The map will be called Oasis and it’ll be set in Arabia.

There will also be an additional map, Eco Point, which will be playable in Overwatch’s new arcade mode, which will allow for 1v1 and 3v3 matches. Oasis will be hitting the Public Test Realm in December, and the Eco Point map and new modes will be available for testing (along with Sombra) next week.

Speaking of Sombra, the new Hero for Overwatch has been teased for a while now through an ARG Blizzard released a few months ago. This ARG showcased many of Sombra’s abilities and her overall play style. The character focuses heavily on stealthy assassinations with advanced technology and a snarky attitude. Her abilities include a teleportation ability akin to Tracer’s recall. The cinematic trailer [which you can watch below], shows off her impressive skill at manipulating tech. The trailer also suggests that her weapon of choice will be some type of sub-machinegun.

Along with new characters, maps and gamemodes, Blizzard has announced a new professional league for Overwatch. The Overwatch League will see players attend combines to be scouted into professional teams, with contracts and minimum salaries.

Finally, a little cherry on top for Blizzard was announced with company co-founder Allen Adham rejoined the company. Adham originally left the company he founded alongside partners Michael Morhaime and Frank Pearce in 2004, citing exhaustion with the years he spent working under the persistent crunch of the games industry. Allen Adham remained on-board Blizzard as a consultant for some time, but he has now returned full-time.

What the reuniting of the founders means for the future of the company isn’t quite clear, but BlizzCon 2016 is certainly painting a bright future for the company.