Overwatch developer update: new server browser, custom game options

Jeff Kaplan again speaks to the people about what’s cooking over at Overwatch HQ.

Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan has released another video updating us on what the developers have been working on.

Specifically in this video, he discusses a new server browser that Overwatch will be making available to players. Kaplan also announces that the popular Capture the Flag brawl which has accompanied the Year of the Rooster game event will remain in the game as a custom game option.

Watch the entirety of Kaplan’s comments here.

Overwatch has always had a custom game option, but it has been sorely underutilized. A server browser for Overwatch has the potential to change that.

As Kaplan explained, players can create custom games that will now appear publicly on a server browser in your region. This means players will have the ability to search for custom games to join, as well as, on the flip side, welcome other players to your custom game.

“You will see all the custom games that are set to public in that region,” Kaplan said, “and there’s all sorts of sorting and filtering options to help you find exactly what kind of game you’re looking for.”

Custom games are also getting a major makeover in terms of options and details. Now players can set all sorts of parameters in their custom games, such as adjusting ability cool down times or whether heroes should have abilities at all. Another big addition is that players can now gain experience points while playing a custom game, so no progress towards loot boxes will ever be lost.

With the Year of the Rooster event coming to a close on Feb. 13, Kaplan also discussed what would become of the special brawl which was released with the event: Capture the Rooster, otherwise known as a capture-the-flag game mode.

“People have responded so positively to Capture the Rooster that we are adding CTF as a game mode that you will be able to enable in custom game,” Kaplan announced.

Not only that, but nine additional maps will be slightly altered just as Lijiang Tower was so that CTF can be played across different maps within Overwatch. And because CTF will be a custom game mode, players have free reign to change the rules of the game. Kaplan threw out suggestions, such as shortening or extending the flag pick-up time.

Next: E3 open to the public in 2017

Aside from the developer update, it is worth noting that another patch has hit the PTR. This one contains major changes to Bastion, as well as other character adjustments. Most noticeably, Mercy will now be temporarily invincible when she revives her teammates, a change that support players around the world will cherish.

For all the information, you read PTR notes here.