Kaplan Drops Hints about Overwatch Dev Plans for 2018

Holiday festivities are over, but it seems the Blizzard team has just warmed up. The Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan made a video to wish all Overwatch fans a happy New Year and used the occasion to give them an update on how the shooter will evolve in 2018.

Holiday festivities are over, but it seems the Blizzard team has just warmed up. The Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan made a video to wish all Overwatch fans a happy New Year and used the occasion to give them an update on how the shooter will evolve in 2018.

Kaplan made a brief retrospect of 2017 and announced that in 2018, Overwatch players can expect tons of new content.

The most exciting revelation he made was the upcoming release of Hero 27. Kaplan did not specify a release date and went on to say that the exact release date was not as important as devs’ commitment to making the hero “right”.

Kaplan remained tight-lipped as to what the new hero role would be but reassured the community that Character 27 was “very awesome” and “very needed.” The Overwatch director revealed that the new hero was in internal testing, which usually means that its release is just around the corner. Kaplan also hinted that in the coming months, players can expect some new maps, but kept details close to the chest.

As for the Competitive mode, Kaplan mentioned that up to now, Blizzard has been making small improvements, but this year, it is slated to receive some larger-scale changes.

As far as the upcoming events are concerned, Overwatch fans can look forward to The Year of the Dog launched in honor of the Chinese New Year. Kaplan revealed that the event would bring “significant” content to players’ delight.

In April, Blizzard will launch the Uprising event that will bring the well-known legendary skins and emotes, as well as new content.

The loot boxes, that have sparked a great controversy recently, would also be addressed in 2018. The base loot table will be updated and the non-event loot boxes will offer new rewards.

The New Year’s greeting left players under the impression that Kaplan was just scratching the surface as he did not reveal in-depth details about any of the events he has mentioned. Still, Overwatch players can expect 2018 to be at least as exciting as 2017.

Watch the full video update below.

Andrew is arguably the geekiest member of our team. He has a knack for new gaming hardware and awesome gadgets. Although Overwatch is his current favorite, he thinks the Counter Strike Global Offensive is the best shooter of all times. He is constantly hunting for news about new hero releases and patches. Andrew believes that playing video games is not just a hobby but a way of life. He regards his job at RealGear as a way of helping fellow gamers make the most of their gameplay by writing reviews about the hardware he uses and the FPS/ RTS he plays.

Leave a Comment