Interested in learning what's next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next. Learn more.
Blizzard wants to take its players to the one place that capitalism hasn’t corrupted: space. Or, more accurately, the moon.
Overwatch, a game where beautiful people smooch each other between rounds of colorful violence, is getting the new Horizon Lunar Colony map (no relation to PlayStation 4’s Horizon: Zero Dawn). It takes place on the Earth’s only natural satellite in a research station that served as the home of the game’s ultra-smart gorilla character Winston (that Winston came from the moon! … I’m sorry). The map is available now on Overwatch’s public test region server, and Blizzard said it is “coming soon” to the general servers on PC and the consoles.
As with all maps and characters, Blizzard is rolling out Horizon Lunar Colony at no additional cost for anyone who owns the game. The developer does this to keep players engaged and coming back, which could convince some players to spend more money on superfluous cosmetic items like custom skins and emotes. This has the benefit of not splitting the player base among various map packs while also enabling wealthy players to spend as much money as they want.
Horizon Lunar Colony falls into the assault class of Overwatch maps, which means it will have a payload that one team must push and the other must stop through multiple checkpoints. Blizzard introduced this new setting in a story trailer where Winston talks about growing up on the moon before escaping due to extreme circumstances.
Event
MetaBeat 2022
MetaBeat will bring together metaverse thought leaders to give guidance on how metaverse technology will transform the way all industries communicate and do business on October 3-4 in San Francisco, CA.
As for details about the map, the video pans over various areas of the colony. We see Winston’s room, a playground with tires swinging from ropes, and workstations for the research scientists. But you can try out the map now, and it should show up in your standard playlists soon. Blizzard doesn’t take a long time between putting content on its test server and launching it for the wider audience. So expect Horizon Lunar Colony to hit Overwatch proper in the next couple of weeks.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Learn more about membership.
