Overwatch is finally getting deathmatch

Overwatch is getting two new deathmatch modes, but they won't be coming to Competitive or or Quick Play.

Blizzard today announced that two new deathmatch modes will soon come to Overwatch: free-for-all and team deathmatch. The new modes are currently available to sample on the Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR) for interested PC gamers, and the modes will roll out to all platforms including PS4 and Xbox One at a later date.

However, Overwatch will retain its core focus as a team-based shooter, and the new deathmatch modes are exclusively available in the new Arcade mode and Custom Games, and won't be available in the principal Competitive or Quick Play session types.

"One of the things we see you ask for most is new game modes," said Overwatch dev boss Jeff Kaplan. "At Blizzcon I was always asked if we're ever going to do deathmatch. The answer at the time was no, and we just didn't think it was right for the game. Our thought was we wanted teams to focus on objective-based combat. Now things have changed."

Check below for more info about the modes:

New Game Modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch

Two new game modes have been added to the Arcade: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch!

In Deathmatch, eight players go head-to-head until one player scores 20 points. Players will earn 1 point whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. This scoring will be tracked in a brand-new scoreboard. The first player to 20 points wins!

In Team Deathmatch, two teams of four players face off until one team scores 30 points. Players will earn 1 point for their team whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point for their team whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. If players are resurrected before they respawn, the corresponding point for their death will be deducted from the enemy team's score. This scoring will be tracked in our default scoreboard. The first team to 30 points wins!

Both modes will play out on a selection of maps from our existing pool:

• Hanamura
• Horizon Lunar Colony
• Temple of Anubis
• Volskaya Industries
• Dorado
• Eichenwalde
• Hollywood
• King's Row
• (TDM only) Black Forest
• (TDM only) Castillo
• (TDM only) Ecopoint: Antarctica
• (TDM only) Necropolis

We've made several modifications to many of these maps (including restricting play to a specific area and developing a special respawn system) when playing in these modes. We're also introducing a brand-new map specifically for Deathmatch: Château Guillard! Learn more about this map below.

Both modes will be available for play in Custom Games.