Blizzard hasn't given away many details on future game modes coming to Overwatch 2, but we know that the devs have something cooking for 2023. And now, with season 3 just around the corner, it's been confirmed that any future game mode will launch with multiple maps.
This comes as Blizzard prepares to roll out a new control map, suggesting that the devs' primary focus right now is the continued release of new areas. We're yet to see what the next game mode would look like, but with it being intended to go live with multiple new maps, it's likely that it's still a way off from being ready for players.
This latest development comes from an interview with Dexerto, in which art director Dion Rogers explains that the devs try to keep the number of maps in each game mode as even as possible.
"We probably would never release a new game mode with just one map," says Rogers. "Our goal is to give a nice variety on it so you can get a sense of strategy on one type of layout and you can get a sense of strategy on another."
This suggests that we won't know what the next game mode is until Blizzard has a few maps to flesh it out with, rather than releasing the mode with just a single stage to play on.
In addition, this might also give us some insight into what the next map will be for existing game modes. For example, Push has only three maps, the least amount for any mode. Conversely, Escort has eight, so we probably should expect any new maps for these matches anytime soon.
This lines up with more recent news, with the next Overwatch map being released for Control matches. Antarctica Peninsula will beef up this map pool, bringing it to five - which admittedly only puts it slightly above Push.
As for the actual matches, we were previously told that we'd get "several new and returning" game modes this year. If none of them will launch with a single map, then it definitely seems that developing new areas will have to be the focus at Blizzard.