Overwatch 2’s next map breaks down May’s backstory

Overwatch 2 Season 3 will drop next week, and Blizzard has shown off a new map that will arrive when this season arrives, the Antarctic Peninsula.

Early next week, February 7th to be exact, Overwatch Season 2 and Season 3 are coming to the competitive shooter. While full details on what to expect haven’t been released yet, Blizzard has given us a sneak peek at the Antarctic Peninsula for the next map, and it looks like you’ll need to dress your favorite heroes a little warmer. Designed for the control game mode, this map consists of three points to capture: one around a small drilling rig, one on an icebreaker, and one in a science lab.

According to level designer Trey Spisak (thanks PC Gamer), designing the map was decidedly more challenging than usual. “You know, we’re used to working on some modular, street-level, city-based stuff that has a lot of real-world-like references that look great. All of a sudden, we say we’re going to Antarctica and you’re in Google Google ‘Antarctica’ and you’ll find, oh, you know, this is a problem.”

The map also sheds light on some of the game’s story, especially related to beauty, as it’s part of the character’s narrative setting. “One of the questions I’ve heard from the public and have been happy to answer is, ‘Hey, May and her colleagues were frozen for ages. Why didn’t anyone ever come to rescue them?'” said lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie (Thanks GameSpot).

“It’s a sad question, but Overwatch has tried to answer it. That’s one of the most exciting things about this map, you’re going to see a huge part of the story that we’ve never talked about before.. ….you can see the Overwatch icebreaker trying to come and rescue May and her team but failing. The people there had to flee because the weather was so bad – they had no choice, and Overwatch didn’t get anyone back there was disbanded before.

Jurgens-Fyhrie also notes that you’ll be able to see some clues about what May and her team are trying to find, as well as some secrets that could point to “more exciting things in the story to come.”

Season 3 of Overwatch 2 hits all platforms on February 7.