Active and avid watchers of Overwatch are about to get a lot more immersed in the current Overwatch World Cup. Blizzard just announced the beta test release of its Overwatch World Cup Viewer. This will literally let fans view the action from every angle, something that was before limited to only professional esports media, not the general public. Personally, I think this is a great way for fans to feel like they are really there in the action themselves, as opposed to just watching from one sterile angle.
What it means
- You control the camera.
- Viewers can switch between first person and third person views.
- Choose which players you want to focus on.
- It’s viewable through the Battle.net client.
- Players one day may be able to watch replays of their own matches.
- It’s only available on PC for now and requires a special Overwatch client for it to work.
- You can watch live matches or replays.
According to Overwatch‘s Game Director Jeff Kaplan, the team hopes that by testing this during the Overwatch World Cup that the technology can be improved upon. We may also see it utilized in all matches, not just these special ones. How cool would that be? Via PC Gamer, Kaplan also said this:
By testing the beta version of the Overwatch World Cup Viewer, it allows us to work on the technology that will one day allow us to bring these features to all of Overwatch, both PC and console, not only in esports settings but for all of us as individuals. … Can you imagine going and watching one of your own matches later, but being able to put the camera wherever you want, in that replay view? We think that would be pretty amazing.
Other important information regarding future updates
- No new maps to be announced at BlizzCon 2018
- A possible new hero though
- Next Overwatch patch will contain buffs for Mercy, Reaper, and Symmetra
Let us know what you think of this new beta and whether you would like to see it added across all matches.
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