Blizzard’s 2017 plans for Overwatch include a server browser

And you’ll be able to customize the communication wheel

Game director Jeff Kaplan has once again taken some time to candidly chat about Overwatch. While this video is a “year in review,” the bulk of it actually has to do with 2017. What’s Blizzard up to? Lots!

• The Control map Oasis, which is in testing on the PTR, should be finalized in early 2017.
• “We have some cool ideas for I think some [seasonal] events you might guess that might be coming, and some events that I don’t think you have any ideas that we’re working on. There will be some surprises there.”
• Customization options for the communication wheel. “We’re adding a control scheme to it that allows you to not only access additional voice lines (up to four you can have set on the wheel), [but] it will also allow you to access up to four different emotes as well.” There’s also a spray wheel (that can store four separate sprays and let you place one in the world at a time as per usual) in the works.
• Blizzard is looking to “strongly encourage” partied-up players to join team voice chat with a button prompt.
• Multiple heroes, of course. “We have one hero that I think is very promising. In fact, we’ve sort of started to move it through our art pipeline, which means we have a higher level of confidence in that than some of our other heroes. But we have some really fun prototypes, also.”
• Expect to see new maps and modes, some of which will be traditional, and some of which will feel experimental. It’s tough to say what all will see the light of day, but they’re “trying new things with the maps and [they’re] trying new game modes as well.”
• Improvements for spectator modes and eSports coverage (e.g., a viewer map).
• A server browser for custom games, which, hell yes.

That’s just a “small glimpse” of what’s ahead, according to Kaplan. Overwatch is my favorite game of 2016, and with continued updates, I don’t see myself getting sick of it anytime soon.