Overwatch fans rejoice because Blizzard are rolling out a new spectator-friendly feature dubbed the Overwatch World Cup Viewer that, as the name suggests, will let you view live matches as you've never done - from the thick of the action.
The news was delivered by the Overwatch community's darling, Jeff Overwatch, who unfortunately had bad news for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players. The OWWC Viewer will only be available through the Battle.net client, i.e. it will only be available for PC players for the time being.
Beta version of the feature will be rolled out ahead of BlizzCon and Kaplan reminded that there's still plenty of testing to do. However, the general plan is to bring the feature to consoles once it's running stable on the PC.
The way it will work is basically identical to the system Blizzard's esports casters use - you can view matches in first person, third person or freecam mode and basically position your spectating position anywhere you'd like. We're confident players will be loving it, especially those who've been critical of the occasional awkward camera positioning by some of Overwatch's casters.
On top of that, Overwatch players can view replays of all semi-final and final matches from BlizzCon with unprecedented control. Replays can be sped up or slowed down to get a better overview and insight into pro tactics.
The Overwatch World Cup Viewer will also offer an overhead view of the battlefield, giving you a clear view of every player's position on the map as well as additional information on health, buffs, ultimate status, etc.
Kaplan reflected on community predictions of a new Overwatch map being launched at BlizzCon, claiming that while this may have been the case with Oasis and Blizzard World but, this year's BlizzCon will have no new maps. However, he stressed that Blizzard is working on new map content.
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Kaplan announced that Overwatch's patch 1.30 will be buffing Roadhog, Reaper, Symmetra and Mercy and promised a lot of great content coming on Blizzcon. More details will be made known via Blizzard's official patch notes at a later date.
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