Skip to main content

Blizzard unveils new Oasis map, now available to all ‘Overwatch’ players

[NOW AVAILABLE] Oasis | New Map Preview | Overwatch
A new map has been added to Overwatch, having previously been announced at
Recommended Videos
Blizzard’s BlizzCon event in November 2016. Oasis is set in a location that’s brand new to the game, taking players to a luxurious city situated among the sands of the Arabian Desert.

PC players have been able to access Oasis for the past few weeks via the public test realm. However, players across all platforms will now see the map added to competitive playlists thanks to an update that was released yesterday, according to a report from Polygon.

In Overwatch lore, the city that the Oasis map is based in and around was the product of some of the region’s greatest researchers and academics converging in one place. They decided to found a city that was committed to “scientific progress without restraints,” which explains why the place is so high-tech, even compared to other locations in the game’s near-future setting.

One example of this technological superiority is the floating and flying vehicles that can be found in various areas of the map. These vehicles aren’t entirely decorative — walk into their path and they’ll do some serious damage, so it’s well worth sticking to pedestrian areas whenever possible.

Oasis also differentiates itself from other maps by the inclusion of jump pads, previously seen as part of the Lúcioball brawl that was available during the Summer Games event that took place last summer. These pads allow players to jump higher than normal, which can open up a new set of strategies to quick-witted combatants.

After months of rumors and speculation, Blizzard recently added hacker character Sombra to the game, having teased her existence endlessly in the first six months the game was available. It remains to be seen whether or not the Oasis map features any hints toward the new characters the studio is apparently working on.

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
Overwatch 2’s packed Season 11 update brings new map, legendary skins
Mercy in her rose gold outfit. Her hair is strawberry blonde with pink tips and her outfit is different shades of pink.

Blizzard is celebrating 100 million players in Overwatch 2 by bringing back a fan-favorite skin, along with a new map and other changes for its 11th season that launches on June 20.

In an announcement Monday, the studio revealed that the theme of Season 11 will be Super Mega Ultrawatch, where players can unlock superhero-themed Legendary Ultrawatch skins and go up against the evil and magical Mythic Calamity Empress Ashe and B.O.B. These skins for Genji, Repaer, and Sojourn will be available in the Season 11 premium battle pass.

Read more
Overwatch 2’s story-driven PvE missions are being abandoned by Blizzard
A giant turret in set up in Gothenburg in Overwatch 2's story missions.

Overwatch 2 finally got some of its long-awaited PvE content last August, but it doesn't look like more is on the way, according to some new reports.

Earlier this week, a story from Kotaku indicated that the future of Overwatch 2's story-driven PvE missions was in question after the first batch of missions, which were released as paid DLC for a free-to-play game and sold poorly. Now, a new report from Bloomberg affirms that. As part of a newsletter outlining wider frustrations Blizzard's developers have with how the company ties profit-sharing bonuses to the performance of games that specific teams make, Bloomberg touched on how the Overwatch 2 team's bonuses were negatively impacted by the failure of the PvE content. A lot of that PvE team was apparently laid off in January when Microsoft cut 1,900 games-related jobs, and sources now tell Bloomberg that Blizzard does not plan to finish its previously planned PvE content.

Read more
Despite its rocky start, I’m still optimistic about Overwatch 2’s future
Lucio and other heroes attack enemies in Overwatch 2 story missions.

Overwatch 2’s launch year didn’t exactly go as planned.

In the lead-up to its October 2022 launch, the excitement for the hero shooter sequel was sky-high, largely thanks to a planned Hero mode. As its release date approached, several choices during development would erode that hype. That would include the departure of Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan, a controversial swap to five-player teams, and plans for a revamped battle pass and microtransaction system. Even more complaints arose when new characters were initially locked behind a battle pass and Blizzard ditched its planned PvE campaign -- which was arguably the biggest justification for creating the sequel in the first place..

Read more