‘Overwatch 2’ updates a map after fan points out anti-homeless set piece

Blizzard Entertainment has updated one of its Overwatch 2 maps after a player pointed out a piece of anti-homeless architecture.

As reported by Polygon, a Twitter user named ClearTogether shared a screenshot on June 6 from Overwatch 2′s first beta which depicted sectioned benches on the map, Midtown.

The benches are a common structure in many major cities in the real world and are designed to stop homeless people from sleeping on them. As the Midtown map is also inspired by New York, the benches also evoke realism of their placement.

Thank you SO much to the Overwatch team for deciding to change this!! Its honestly overall a small change but it goes a long way. ♥ You guys rock https://t.co/6bjUS5x3iT pic.twitter.com/F7a5y5iX0m

— ????ClearTogether????????????️‍???? (@ClearTogether) June 29, 2022

“Overwatch being an ‘aspirational universe,’ I just find it depressing at worse and out-of-place at best,” ClearTogether said.

Now, it looks like Blizzard has taken this criticism of their map into account. With the release of Overwatch 2‘s latest open beta, ClearTogether has noticed that the sectioned benches have now been updated and are now depicted without the dividers.

“Thank you SO much to the Overwatch team for deciding to change this!! It’s honestly overall a small change but it goes a long way,” the Twitter user said.

Bryan Bedford, a senior character artist on the first-person multiplayer shooter also commented on the update in the Twitter thread. “It was a solid feedback note,” Bedford said, “happy to see it got picked up on the world building crew’s radar.”

Overwatch 2‘s latest open beta began on June 28 and allows select players who signed up or bought the Watchpoint pack to play the game ahead of its October launch.

Blizzard has confirmed that the game will have a free-to-play model but the PvE content that was initially promised won’t be available until after launch.

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