Overwatch Map Reveal Seemingly Pulled Amid Blizzard Lawsuit

A new Overwatch map was apparently supposed to be revealed this week, but that reveal didn’t happen. The reveal was supposedly going to be for a new Deathmatch map called “Malevento” with the only details about that map now being ones that come from an article that’s since been archived. It’s not much of a stretch to imagine that this map reveal was pulled or postponed amid the recent news of a lawsuit being filed against Activision Blizzard which alleges sexual harassment, discrimination, and other grievances.

The archived article in question comes from Dexerto where some details about the Malevento map were shared on July 22nd. The wording saying the map was part of a “surprise Overwatch update on July 22″ suggested that the map was supposed to be announced on the same day which was right around the time that news of the lawsuit began circulating.

Overwatch YouTuber and streamer Stylosa captured the image above of the article that shows what the map will look like. Other images included in the article showed tall buildings and roads lined with numerous archways for players to weave in and out of. Dexerto described the map as one that combined both “tight corridors” and “more open outdoor areas.”

Being a Deathmatch map, it appears there aren’t any plans to have this map available in other game modes after it’s eventually revealed and released. That release will supposedly happen on August 13th, according to the archived article. That was the date given that was presumably accurate whenever the announcement was supposed to happen, but now that the reveal itself has been pushed back, the same could happen to the date, too. The map is reportedly still on the PTR for people to try out now, though we haven’t been able to verify that detail.

Considering the controversy going on at Activision Blizzard right now, it’s unsurprising to see that a map reveal has been shelved. Senior members from the company have been speaking out since the lawsuit was made public, though Activision Blizzard’s numerous social accounts have been noticeably quiet. Neither the Overwatch nor the Call of Duty Twitter accounts have tweeted anything since July 21st when both typically tweet several times a day at least.

Expect an official reveal of Overwatch’s new map at some point in the future, but also be ready for a later release date than expected.