The Overwatch community, always on the hunt for the slightest whiff of new content, seems to have discovered a potential teaser for a new map in the promotional images for the Anniversary 2020 event.
Overwatch’s fourth Anniversary celebration kicked off on May 19, and Blizzard may have thrown in an early hint for a possible upcoming map along with all of the brand new skins.
As they do with almost every event, Blizzard put out promotional images showcasing most of the new cosmetics. The one that’s of interest this year is Wrecking Ball’s awesome Submarine skin, which is shown in an underwater setting that doesn’t match any known area in the game so far.
Looking past the skin itself, which is perfect for an underwater setting, we can see that Junkrat’s RIP Tire from his “Beachrat” skin to the right. This could mean the area is just like the beach from Summer Games, a static setting we’ll never get to play, but it definitely seems like there’s more going on.
We weren’t the only ones to notice how strange the setting for Hammond’s photoshoot was either, Overwatch YouTuber Stylosa, who’s had inside knowledge of upcoming content before, quipped that it could be a map tease, maybe for a “Watchpoint Atlantis” map.
Anyone know where Hammond is here? Maybe a map tease heheheh? ?
Watchpoint ATLANTIS! ? pic.twitter.com/8BO2khIiBw
— Stylosa (@Stylosa) May 19, 2020
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We could be looking way too much into it, but there is a lot of detail included in what would be a one-time-use image if it weren’t a teaser or part of something larger. Behind Hammond, to the right, is the head of one of the same statues that can be found on Temple of Anubis partially buried in the sand. Maybe in Overwatch’s future, Atlantis has been discovered and they shared culture or traded with the Egyptians who built Temple of Anubis.
All the way in the back of the image, you can make out the shape of what seems to be a boat sitting on the seafloor. Some theories have Atlantis located in the Bermuda Triangle, and even though there’s absolutely no hard evidence backing that up, it would make a great location for an Overwatch map.
Statue in back seems the same as this one on Anubis ? pic.twitter.com/PWWxdKfTNe
— Bill Cooney (@RedRhino_gg) May 19, 2020
There’s only so much you can pull from one image alone, but, even though developers have come out and said there won’t be any new heroes after Echo until Overwatch 2, they haven’t said the same about adding new maps.
As we move through the year, into Summer Games and beyond, it might be worth keeping an eye out for clues hidden around Overwatch about a new map, because they might be staring us in the face already.