Overwatch 2 Devs Changed Some Hostile In-Game Architecture
Overwatch 2 devs made a notable change in one of the game’s newer maps. A fan reached out to Blizzard to complain about the use of hostile architecture in Midtown. Devs then decided to apply the changes in the second beta.
In Overwatch 2’s first beta, one of its maps had some sectioned benches. This type of architecture is common in the real world for deterring homeless people from sleeping on them. Some fans were not too happy with this design. “Overwatch being an ‘aspirational universe,’ I just find it depressing at worse and out-of-place at best,” the fan said.
Fans noticed changes with the benches in the game’s second beta. “Thank you so much to the Overwatch team for deciding to change this!,” the fan added. “It is honestly overall a small change but goes a long way.”
Lead Narrative Designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie called the fan’s comment “great feedback.” “We decided early on in the map story development that Overwatch’s NY offers free, safe housing for people,” he responded. “‘How we hope the world will be’ is a big part of our story dev.”
This is also not the only change that the Overwatch 2 team added to the game. It has become clear that the devs want to distance themselves from the awful things that are happening in the real world. Just last year, they changed the name for the game’s damage hero McCree. The character’s namesake was dismissed from the company following his involvement in the infamous “Cosby suite” group chats.
Blizzard clearly still has a bit of a ways to go to clear their name after the bad press they got in the past years. Less hostile in-game benches do not do anything for making allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment go away. However, the recent changes in Overwatch 2 are certainly a step in the right direction.
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