I would like to throw out a lot of hypotheses about what kind of maps we could have in the future, maps that could actually expand the lore.
But first, I’d like to throw out some hypotheses about the next reworked maps. For those who don’t know, they’ve already announced some reworks after Colosseo: Numbani, Havana, Circuit Royale and Dorado. It’s probably about the points that favor the snipers too much, but let’s speculate a bit about the lore.
- Numbani is a map that has undergone multiple changes for the lore, but if they are planning a respawn room closer as often speculated, I think it could be the opportunity to see (finally) Efi Oladele’s workshop. Or maybe the Junie described in the Unity short story, maybe using the com and additional shelters in the map. or more references to all the little details of the Novel Hero of Numbani.
- Circuit Royale is a very ignored map in the lore so far, aside from Maximillien’s club. However, it could be the perfect opportunity to introduce some small references to a new Talon hero, perhaps someone connected to the world of racing. In Soldier76’s voice lines, we know that Overwatch has been investigating the Corsini SPC.
- Dorado we know that he had a small change for Juno, but we know that he has to have two functional changes. But who knows if there could be a teaser for a new Los Muertos hero? The little tank icon seen at Blizzcon 2023 looked like a junker, but the fluorescent crest could also be a Los Muertos style, right?
- Havana obviously has the best reference, with Sojourn recently mentioning Emre on that very map. We know what that means: Emre can be perfectly connected to Havana. Maybe some clues coming soon?
Now let’s move on to the hypothetical old and new maps. So far the Clash modes have been an expansion of the old assault maps. So… let’s talk about how likely it is that we’ll see the other maps in the game.
- Volskaya Industries seems to have little lore to tell since Zarya joined Overwatch. And unlike Hanaoka and Throne of Anubis that had pending stories (Hashimoto and Anubis) does Russia have a lore to tell? In my opinion it is the map that has the least chance of seeing a narrative in the near future.
- The Horizon Lunar colony could have an expansion on the sectors inhabited by gorillas, but in reality the “space” theme that seems to have attracted the community’s attention the most could instead concern the colony on Mars. It would still be a nice map to exploit an area with low gravity.
- Paris is the map that could have some great lore buffs. If it weren’t for the problematic functioning, we probably would have known more about the Maison Marat, and the omnic revolutions of the city (which however had nothing to do with null sector). with a linearly imagined map, we could imagine the large avenue of Paris visible in Zero Hour, amidst the remains of the Null Sector invasion. And maybe go through the Arc de Triomphe.
- Many people forget that Gothenburg was supposed to be an assault map. we could see another part of the city or the ironclad technology from different points of view from PVE.
Let’s conclude this big journey with new hypothetical maps:
- Atlantic Argology: we’ve heard it mentioned too often, and in my opinion it’s time to see it in game. From the short story with Symemtra and Lifeweaver, we know that it is a huge center of studies and accommodation. It could seriously be optimal to have a Flashpoint map to represent it, since they are the largest maps from an architectural point of view.
- Utopea is never mentioned much, but this academic city of Vishkar must certainly have an interesting area to investigate the secrets of the company. It could also be interesting for a possible teaser on the Talon.
- The Gwishin base: we absolutely must mention the gwishin, an underwater base that could open new frontiers for the lore of these all too ignored robots.
- The Swiss Overwatch Headquarters: it could be interesting to see a ruined map based on the old exploded Overwatch headquarters. it would create very open areas, similar to ruins, but still with some hints about the old Overwatch lore.
- We know that Overwatch has opened many Watchpoints and Ecopoints, and that Samoa was an old Ecopoint claimed by the Polynesian League. Of all the points described in the Declassified book, in my opinion the most interesting to see in game would be Watchpoint Grimsvotn, which is the prison where Overwatch sent their most dangerous criminals. It was also Doomfist’s cell, so… it would be perfect for the lore to know if other dangerous Talon collaborators were freed.
