During the recent Blizzcon 2017 the Overwatch team revealed a whole bunch of upcoming features, one of which was a brand new hybrid map celebrating Blizzard's various games and universes. During one of the interviews it was mentioned that the aptly titled Blizzard World would most likely arrive in early 2018, but as you might guess from the title alone, it has suddenly made its way to the Overwatch PTR alongside a variety of bug fixes!
You can find a brief overview of the map right below, as well as the official patch notes given that the update is fairly small. I'll also highlight a couple of the most important bug fixes, just in case you don't feel like going through all of the changes. Anyway, have a look:
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• New Hybrid Map: Blizzard World
- An amusement park celebrating the universes of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo, Blizzard World is a brand-new hybrid Assault/Escort map. Charge the gates of Stormwind, sneak through the Nexus Experience, and guide the payload through areas filled with high ground, flanking routes, and environmental hazards. Grab some Blizzard-inspired snacks at the concession stand along the way!
GENERAL
A.I.
• An option to “Remove All A.I.” in the custom game lobby can be accessed by Right Click > Remove All Bots
BUG FIXES
General
• Fixed an issue that caused the arcade card for Limited Duel and Mystery Duel to not list all currently disabled characters
• Fixed an issue that prevented certain sound effects from playing when navigating the Options menu with a controller
Heroes
• Fixed a visual bug that caused Ana’s Biotic Rifle ammo clip to detach when her Captain Amari skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s Seismic Slam to create performance drops when repeatedly used with no cooldown
• Fixed a bug that prevented Mei’s Cryo-freeze from clearing the healing debuff caused by Ana’s Biotic Grenade
• Fixed a visual bug with Moira’s Biotic Orb that sometimes caused Biotic Grasp’s healing spray effects to display instead
• Fixed a bug that prevented Moira from being able to pass through enemies when using Fade
• Fixed a bug that caused Moira’s eyelashes to detach from her face during her Heroic highlight intro
• Fixed a visual issue with Moira’s Oasis skin that caused her knees to clip through her knee guards while crouched
• Fixed a bug that caused Reaper’s shotguns to animate incorrectly when discarded on the ground
• Fixed an issue that prevented highlights captured by Zenyatta players from recording correctly when the Cultist skin was equipped
Maps
• Fixed a bug that caused a performance drop when players shot at the gold coin piles in the last Defender spawn of Junkertown
As is tradition with most Overwatch PTR updates, there are also a whole bunch of hidden changes that may or may not be bugs. For example, Winston and Reinhardt can no longer jump at the end of their Leap/Charge in order to conserve momentum and propel themselves forward, while Moira's secondary attack now requires extremely precise aiming, even more precise than Zarya's laser! Whether these changes are intended or simply a byproduct of some other tweak, nobody currently knows, but its something you should keep in mind if you're planning to go onto the PTR.
And finally, its also worth mentioning that the new cosmetics themed after various other Blizzard games have not been added as a part of this update. They'll most likely come with the final version of Blizzard World, but until we get official confirmation I would suggest you don't get too excited just yet.
