‘Overwatch’ map announcement pulled amid Activision Blizzard allegations

Deathmatch map Malevento is playable in the Public Test Region

An announcement of a new Overwatch map appears to have been pulled shortly after it was revealed.

As reported in Eurogamer, the news of a new Deathmatch map first came from an article by Dexerto yesterday (July 22) that has now been taken offline.

The article described the new Italy-based map Malevento as featuring “a mix of both tight corridors and more open outdoor areas, leading to a blend of close-quarters combat while still leaving the door open for the likes of Widowmaker to excel from afar.”

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Overwatch
Overwatch. Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Despite no official announcement from Blizzard, the map is now live on Overwatch‘s Public Test Region on PC, while it is planned to be released for all platforms on August 17.

The lack of any marketing of this new map from the developer itself could be down to bad timing as Activision Blizzard found itself hit by a controversial lawsuit on the same day. Other social media accounts from the company have also not seen any updates since July 21.

The lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing comes from two years of investigation that alleges sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse against its female employees fuelled by a “frat boy workplace culture”.

In response to the allegations, World Of Warcraft players have been staging sit-in protests. Both factions of the MMO have come together on the steps of the inn in Oribos, where they have been discussing the lawsuit and raising money for the Black Girls Code charity.

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Activision Blizzard is not the only gaming company under the spotlight of workplace harassment. On the same day (July 22), a Kotaku investigation found that harassment has been rife at Ubisoft Singapore.

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