Blizzard Entertainment Reveals Supercharged Team-Based Shooter, Overwatch™
November 07 2014 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
World premiere of brand-new Blizzard game
universe at BlizzCon®
Show attendees go hands-on with Overwatch,
running live on 600 BlizzCon PCs
Beta coming in 2015; sign-ups NOW LIVE at
www.playoverwatch.com
In front of a live crowd of more than 25,000 BlizzCon® attendees
and an expected online audience numbering in the millions, Blizzard
Entertainment today announced Overwatch™, a pick-up-and-play
first-person shooter featuring an amazing cast of heroes and set in
an all-new Blizzard game universe.
The action of Overwatch takes place in a technologically
advanced, highly stylized future earth. In a time of global crisis,
an international task force of soldiers, scientists, adventurers,
and oddities known as Overwatch had come together to restore peace
to a war-torn world. After many years, the group’s influence waned,
and it was eventually disbanded. Overwatch might be gone now . . .
but the world still needs heroes.
With an emphasis on accessibility and pure fun, Overwatch brings
Blizzard’s signature easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay to the
FPS genre. Harnessing the power of their hero of choice, players
will join forces in teams of six and battle each other across a
range of futuristic global locations, from the hologram-lit streets
of London to a bazaar in the shadows of a high-tech Egyptian
pyramid. Every battlefield is iconic and built to highlight each
character’s unique abilities, and fights can shift from streets to
rooftops to open skies within the span of a breath.
“Overwatch is our take on a vibrant, near-future universe with
amped-up characters and action-packed team-based gameplay,” said
Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “With
every new Blizzard game, we look at our favorite aspects of a genre
and put our own spin on things. Our goal with Overwatch is to
create an awesome FPS experience that’s more accessible to a much
wider audience while delivering the action and depth that shooter
fans love.”
The heroes of Overwatch each bring their own distinct weapons
and superabilities to bear. Here’s just a glimpse of the numerous
heroes that will ultimately fill Overwatch’s rosters:
- Tracer, a former British test
pilot who shrugs at danger, can execute impossible acrobatic
assaults thanks to her ability to teleport, drop energy bombs, and
even reverse time.
- Reinhardt, a hulking German
soldier in battle armor, can charge great distances and pin his
enemies to a wall or slam the ground with his rocket hammer to
knock them off their feet.
- Hanzo, a bow-wielding Japanese
mercenary, has the ability to scale walls with his bare hands, fire
off a tracking device that illuminates nearby enemies for his team,
and unleash a huge spirit dragon that does grievous damage to all
enemies in its path.
- Symmetra, an Indian architech,
manipulates light and energy to shield her allies and damage her
enemies—and she can turn the tide of any battle by building a
device that instantly transports her teammates to the front
lines.
While each hero represents a formidable force on their own,
players can amplify their potential by assembling into a
well-balanced team and creatively combining powers. No matter which
hero or playstyle they prefer, players will be able to team up and
accomplish the incredible in Overwatch.
At BlizzCon this weekend, Overwatch is fully playable and
running on 600 PCs, and attendees there are the first in the world
to play it. Gamers at the show are able to select from a current
roster of 12 playable heroes and go 6v6 against each other,
capturing or defending points and attacking or delivering payloads
across three wildly different maps. New heroes and maps will
continually be added to the game as development progresses, and
beta testing will begin in 2015.
Learn more about Overwatch, including all of the heroes and maps
revealed at BlizzCon, and sign up to participate in the upcoming
beta test at the official website, www.playoverwatch.com. Further
details about the game will be announced there in the months
ahead.
With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has
numerous positions currently available—visit jobs.blizzard.com for
more information and to learn how to apply.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and
the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard
Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision
Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of
entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s
most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track
record includes eighteen #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year
awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of
the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and
reports from key distribution partners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking
Statements: Information in this press release that involves
Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or
strategies regarding the future, including statements about
scheduled release dates, are forward-looking statements that are
not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors
that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product
delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of
Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and
any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking
statements in this release are based upon information available to
Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of
this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision
Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.Rob Hilburger, 949-242-8404VP,
Global Communicationsrhilburger@blizzard.comorEmil Rodriguez,
949-955-1380 x12064Director, Global
PRelrodriguez@blizzard.comorSteven Khoo, 949-955-1380 x12508PR
Managerskhoo@blizzard.com
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