A recent blog post from Blizzard has revealed that Overwatch 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the popular hero shooter, will feature dynamic weather. This news was first spotted by GamesRadar.
This system will be known as Environment States and, according to Blizzard, will bring much more variety to each of the game’s maps. Firstly, it allows the vibe of every single map to change completely. A warm sunny day generally creates a more jovial feeling than a torrential downpour at night, for instance.
It will also allow the developers to decorate various maps for different events throughout the year. A dash of snow constantly falling across all of the maps during the winter or darkened maps, thick with fog, could bring a spooky flavour to proceedings around Halloween.
These are just a few purely cosmetic examples, but Blizzard adds that it could also directly impact gameplay. For example, a sandstorm could slowly build as the game wears on, reaching a point where visibility is severely reduced in the later stages. With compromised vision, landing a skill or aiming your weapon could become noticeably more difficult.
The aim is to make the system fairly flexible too. The environment can change depending on numerous factors, including the game mode, players’ position or the passing of time. Even something as simple as the Sun moving across the sky can contort shadows in several ways, making the map notably different.
It’s all impressive looking stuff, and I’d urge you to give the blog post a read if the technical wizardry behind games interests you at all. If anything, it shows that the Overwatch 2 developers spend a painstaking amount of time on every little detail of their game.
There is still no update on when we can expect Overwatch 2 to be released, but we’ll be sure to update you as and when we learn more.
