Overwatch is in the middle of its annual Summer Games event, which gives fans the chance to unlock seasonal cosmetics and play the limited-time Lucioball game mode. It seems fans were also going to be treated to a new Deathmatch map, Malevento, but its announcement was apparently pulled at the last minute due to the ongoing Activision Blizzard sexual harassment lawsuit controversy.

For the uninitiated, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, citing numerous alleged instances of sexual harassment gender discrimination. Since the lawsuit came to light, Activision Blizzard has issued an official statement but has otherwise stayed quiet on social media platforms. It seems that the original plan was for the new Overwatch Deathmatch map Malevento to be announced and released in the PTR today with an official launch on August 17, but those plans have since been pushed back.

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The Overwatch Malevento map came to light thanks to a now-deleted post by Dexerto that was spotted by Eurogamer. Available in the Overwatch Deathmatch mode that's separate from Quick Play and Competitive, Malevento is set in Italy and is a daytime map. Its addition will mark the first new Overwatch map in seven months, with the previous release being fellow Overwatch Deathmatch map Kanezaka.

It's unclear when Overwatch will be adding the Malevento map. As it stands, Activision Blizzard has remained mostly quiet about the ongoing controversy, and considering the severe public backlash it's currently experiencing, it's hard to say when any of its social media accounts might start posting again. One has to imagine that the new map will hit Overwatch's PTR once the radio silence ends for an official release a couple of weeks later, but it's also possible that Blizzard will stay firm with the August 17 release date, regardless of how long it has to test it with the community.

In the meantime, Overwatch fans may be less concerned about new content for the original game and more interested in learning more about Overwatch 2. While it was originally believed to be launching this year, the Overwatch 2 release date is in limbo, with the game pushed back to 2022 at the earliest. There's been some turmoil behind the scenes, like game director Jeff Kaplan leaving the development team, and so it's possible that this lawsuit combined with high profile Blizzard departures could push Overwatch 2's release date back even further. However, that's just speculation at this time.

Overwatch is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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Source: Eurogamer