Overwatch 2 developers consider reusing 2CP maps
Overwatch 2 developers might have hinted that the game would feature the notorious 2CP maps from the original game’s Assault mode. They confirmed that three maps—Hanamura, Volskaya, and Temple of Anubis—would not be included in the competitive play while some 2CP maps could remain as they have strong ties to the game’s lore.
Hanamura, for example, is tied to two heroes of the game—Hanzo and Genji. Therefore, the map has to be included in the game for story purposes. This was confirmed by art director Dion Rogers, who said that the maps would be reused in OW 2, either in a different form or game mode.
Previously, Blizzard admitted that 2CP maps could be problematic at times. It then introduced a new mode called Push and decided to strip these Assault maps from map rotation and competitive play.
Plan to reuse 2CP maps in OW 2
There have been talks months ahead of OW 2’s release date on October 4 that Hanamura, Volskaya, and Temple of Anubis will eventually disappear from the game. While the news was later confirmed to be true, the possibility of the maps returning had left fans uneasy.
OW 2 system designer Gavin Winter pointed this out, acknowledging that the team was well-aware of how divisive 2CP maps can be.
“If we did find a way to give them a new mode we’d want to do extensive testing in the Arcade or in other formats where we can get community feedback,” Winter said.
“We know how divisive Assault (2CP) was for much of our player base and we agree that it had issues, so we wouldn’t bring these maps back without a lot of testing.”
Rogers admitted that it was difficult to remove these maps from the game and announced they would be reused instead. He said the maps would be featured in a new game mode.
“It was a tough decision for us to lose the Assault maps. Hanamura being one of personally my favorite maps in the game, with the Japanese aesthetic and arcade that you destroy. We do plan to reuse this in some way because it’s connected to the lore so much — [just like] Temple of Anubis and Volskaya.
“When we initially built the game, a lot of the maps were directly related to the lore, so we’re hoping to revisit [them], especially Hanamura, in some way, as either a new map that uses a similar aesthetic or another section of Hanamura. There’s a bunch of ideas.”
Those who want to re-experience these maps in the sequel game will still be able to play them in custom games as opposed to quick multiplayer matches. Rogers added there were talks of introducing a new map based on the aesthetic of the old ones.
“But we really think it’s better if they were a part of the key maps in the game. So we definitely talked a lot about how to reuse those maps. We will rebuild a new map but with the same aesthetics,” Rogers explained.
