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'Overwatch' News: Potential Hero Balances, New Maps, New Heroes, And Several Quality of Life Improvements Teased By Blizzard Game Director Jeff Kaplan

By Ed Saludes | Update Date: Dec 22, 2016 07:23 PM EST

A "Year in Review" video released by Blizzard for "Overwatch" reveals exciting updates to the RPG shooter for 2017. The video features game director Jeff Kaplan who teased what are in store for players in the coming year. The developer update video provides snippets on new characters, maps, and game modes as discussed by Kaplan.

Blizzard launched the "Year in Review" video on YouTube to lay out the roadmap for "Overwatch". Kaplan confirmed that there will be more heroes for 2017. He shared that Blizzard is working on some prototypes before releasing them. He explained the ins and outs of developing new characters.

"We have one hero that I think is very promising, in fact, we've started to move it through our art pipeline," he explained. Kaplan added that his team of game designers is confident to deliver more "Overwatch" heroes in 2017.

Blizzard is also planning to introduce new maps including Oasis, according to Kaplan. The year 2017 will see more modes on the same experimental level as Arcade Mode. The game developer's goal is to launch these modes in the rotations for Quick Play and Competitive.

Another exciting update for "Overwatch" is customization. Players will be allowed to have four custom voice lines setup. To be added also are emotes and sprays. "You'll also be able to use custom [key] bindings to set a particular button to trigger a particular voice line or emote," Kaplan explained.

A custom game server browser is allocated for 2017. This new "Overwatch" feature enables players to create custom games and interact with other players by listing these games as public. "It's been a top requested feature," Kaplan said.

These future updates are Blizzard's response to suggestions and requests from the gaming community and "Overwatch" forums, said Kaplan. No specific information is provided yet on the release of these game updates.

See the video below in which game director Jeff Kaplan reflects on "Overwatch's" amazing year and offers information on what's on the horizon in 2017. Share your thoughts in the comment section!

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