Blizzard has launched the "Overwatch" Year of the Rooster event to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. However, a couple of leaks have emerged online, including a new Capture the Flag mode and skins based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Capture the Rooster is an event-specific brawl which is a version of the Capture the Flag game usually seen in first-person shooters. It comes as a surprise to "Overwatch" players because the developers repeatedly said that Capture the Flag will not be available in the multiplayer game.
"Overwatch" director Jeff Kaplan said that the development team gave up on Capture the Flag after testing different versions of the mode as they do not want to add a lot of rules to the simple game.
Capture the Flag involves two opposing teams with a flag in their bases each. Players would have to retrieve the opponent's flag and bring it back to their base while protecting their flag. "Overwatch" characters have certain skills that can give them unfair advantage, like Tracer who has the Blink skill. She can use her Recall skill to go back to a previous point.
"You either have it wind up being a match of all Tracers and Genjis, or you end up putting so many rules in that Tracer doesn't feel like Tracer anymore or there's no reason to play her in the map," Kaplan said.
Finally, the developers still decided to bring Capture the Rooster to "Overwatch." It contains several minor tweaks, so it will not be a Tracer and Genji game. There will be a timer, and any damage will reset it. Players can also capture enemy flags even if their flag has been taken. Unfortunately, Capture the Rooster will not stay for good and will only be available until Feb 13.