Overwatch's Deathmatch Update Now Live, Check Out The Full Patch Notes

With major changes brewing on the Public Test Realm, the live version of Overwatch just received a new update. Players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One now have access to two Deathmatch game modes, as well as some noteworthy changes.

Despite being the most straightforward of first-person shooter gametypes, Overwatch had not offered a standard Deathmatch mode until now. A standard free-for-all version pits eight players against each other in an attempt to be the first to secure 20 points. Getting the last hit on an opponent scores one point, while one point is lost whenever you kill yourself or die from environmental damage.

Team Deathmatch works similarly, pitting two teams of four against one another with a score limit of 30. However, resurrections deduct a point from the other team's score. You can also still lose a point for your team by killing yourself, falling off a map, and so on.

These modes are accessed through Custom Games and can be played on a variety of existing maps, though certain ones are only included in Team Deathmatch. Some maps have been adjusted to fit the new gameplay style; respawn locations work differently, while certain areas are inaccessible in Deathmatch. The complete map rotation is as follows:

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

You may notice one of those--Chateau Guillard--is a completely new map. It's exclusive to Deathmatch modes and is described by Blizzard as such: "Chateau Guillard is located near Annecy in southeastern France. For hundreds of years, it was the estate of the influential Guillard family, until it gradually fell into disrepair after the family's power waned in the decades after the Revolution. Recently, the chateau has found a new owner: the Talon agent Widowmaker, who has returned to her family's ancestral home."

This update also buffs four characters, including Roadhog. Additionally, it introduces a variety of changes to Competitive Play (such as reducing the duration of seasons from three months to two), adds a player-reporting on consoles, and adds match-wide voice chat for Deathmatch and Custom Games. You can check out the full patch notes on Blizzard's website.

Notably, you won't see the new Junkertown map (which has not yet entered PTR) or the proposed revamps to Mercy or D.Va in this patch. There's no word yet on when any of those will make it to the live game.