There is a blurry line between "Overwatch" and the upcoming "Overwatch 2". The sequel will feature new co-op missions and a retrofitted engine, but owners of "Overwatch" and "Overwatch 2" will still be able to play against each other; as far as PvP is concerned, "Overwatch" will be two versions of the same game, which means the original It does not mean that it will become irrelevant. Apparently, one such change will be announced fairly soon.

At yesterday's Reddit AMA, Aaron Keller, game director for "Overwatch 2," said that a "big" new feature for "Overwatch" will be announced between "soon" and "really soon."

And that is all we really know. Even if for some reason it seems likely, it is probably not an Apex Legends-style ping system. In response to another question, Keller said that the development team has created a working prototype of a ping system and is "excited" about it, but did not want to promise anything prematurely. Perhaps it will be added at the launch of Overwatch 2.

No word yet on a release date for OW2 - likely next year, but technical director John Lafleur said at the AMA that there will "almost certainly" be a beta testing phase before launch.

"I can't tell you when we know," Lafleur wrote on Reddit. If I told you, I would have to kill you."

As for the mystery feature, Blizzard's idea of "soon" varies too much to be definite, but "really soon" is probably in the 1-3 month range. This is just a guess.

Elsewhere in the AMA, Lafleur commented on Overwatch 2's graphics capabilities, saying that its engine will be an expansion of the original game's technical foundation, including "a lot of optimization, better lighting, a lot of new features." Some of the revamped audio could also be heard in last week's "Overwatch 2" PvP stream, including better directional sound and new effects for many weapons (the Soldier 76 rifle was highlighted).

"In PvE, we've added a lot of features that help us see more of how the environment tells the story," Lafleur wrote. Additionally, the hardware landscape has changed dramatically since the launch of Overwatch, so we have the opportunity to enhance high-end features and assets (on both the artist and technical side)."

In addition to these little details about "Overwatch 2," the full AMA includes some fun comments about the general design and history of "Overwatch." Asked about ideas that were not adopted for the game, Keller described an underwater map featuring a giant "walking machine." The concept art for this map, called "Galapagos," was used in an early pitch slide for Overwatch. Keller said he still wants to create an underwater map, and one day we may see a Blizzard version of Rapture (in fact, Big Daddy would make a pretty natural Overwatch hero).

Keller also talked about the mistakes he feels people tend to make when designing maps for Overwatch.

"The community talks a lot about power creeps, healing creeps, etc., but not many people mention size creeps. 'I think the OW map is getting bigger every year. Think about the opening area of Junkertown. Too much space like this and the core gunplay starts to fall apart, and we're really investigating map size in OW2."

This is a particularly interesting comment. This is because size has been the most notable and contentious issue in the discussion surrounding "Overwatch 2" recently. Last week we learned that upon the release of "Overwatch 2" the size of competitive teams will be reduced from 6v6 to 5v5, with only one tank per team.

Reaction has been mixed, with those who enjoy the tank role particularly nervous, but PC Gamer's Overwatch lurker Morgan was quite receptive to the idea. [and the change in tanks may encourage some of our DPS-focused friends to give Winston a shot."

Well spotted, TheGamer.