Overwatch 2 reveals new Antarctic Peninsula map for Season 3

Blizzard has revealed the new map which will be part of Season 3 of Overwatch 2 – marking a return to the colder climes in Antarctic Peninsula.

The new map may be familiar to long-time Overwatch fans, as it expands upon the locale previously seen in Mei’s own Ecopoint: Antarctica event.

NOW READ: Overwatch 2 Season 3 release date and what we know so far

However, this new map reimagines the space and expands it massively to become a brand new Control Point map – and the first new map for the mode in Overwatch 2.

It includes a giant icebreaker ship, underground caves – and as the developers were very excited to tell us during a roundtable sessions – even some friendly penguins.

The team described the map as having more flat than perhaps other maps around control points – giving space for players with limited mobility to thrive – but also having a lot of ‘verticality’ to these spaces, with players encouraged to look below and above to attack from more angles.

Lore will be a big part of this map, with plenty of easter eggs for fans to find that will uncover more pieces of the overarching Overwatch story – which the team promised would be a focus following the launch of Ramattra last season.

Art Director Dion Rogers describes how the teams wanted to make a much more natural themed map as opposed to the city based maps of other locations.

“Working together with Trey (Spisak) and the level design team, we wanted to build something that was a little bit more…almost like Route 66 where it was just much more rock, ice and uneven surfaces that players may not be used to seeing in Overwatch.”

It also provided some unique challenges too – with other maps, the team would often be able to call on one of their members with lived experience in these locations to help with the research. Obviously, this wasn’t as simple this time around.

“With this map, we relied a lot on reference gathering,” Dion told us. “And we had a bunch of books on Antarctica and watched a bunch of documentaries. And even during the Mei Ecopoint era of things, we still had a ton of reference from then.”

“We always work closely with level design when building a space, but this time we were like attached at the hip, you know?”

Unlike the heroes of previous seasons, the Antarctic Peninsula map shouldn’t be behind any sort of unlock wall when it launches. You’ll be able to see it in action when Season 3 of Overwatch 2 kicks off, on February 7, 2023.

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