Just in case you were thinking this would be an exception
Overwatch just kicked off its Lunar New Year event, which brings new cosmetics for three weeks on top of a “Capture the Rooster” CTF/Capture the Flag game variant. But just in case you thought maybe they’d let it linger after said event since it kind of naturally fits the FPS genre, think again.
Director Jeff Kaplan explains that the mode generally doesn’t work for Overwatch because it’s important that the game focuses on “one thing,” like a payload or area objective. They’ve deliberated over CTF for “years,” due to mobility issues as well, like Tracer’s dash. To combat this at the very least in this limited Arcade mode, they forced players to deal with a small “capture time” for the flag to prevent Tracer from blinking in and recalling with it — plus, you can capture the enemy flag even if yours isn’t present at your post. In other words, it would be tough to balance the entire cast around this mode, so they just had fun with it.
It all makes a lot of sense, and having a few streamlined modes is what makes it so easy to get into Overwatch. Plus, you get plenty of bonuses from the Arcade, so it’s a win-win. Jeff does mention maybe “one day” it could happen, but they aren’t even “remotely” thinking about it right now. For now if the reaction is positive, it sounds like they’ll bring it back to the Arcade at the very least.
