A large new Overwatch feature will be announced soon, possibly really soon

There's a fuzzy border between Overwatch and the upcoming Overwatch 2. The sequel will include new co-op missions and a retrofitted engine, but Overwatch and Overwatch 2 owners will be able to play competitive matches with and against each other. When it comes to PvP, then, the Overwatches will be two versions of the same game, which means that the original hasn't become irrelevant: any big changes made to Overwatch now will be also be part of Overwatch 2. Apparently, one such change will be announced pretty soon.

During a Reddit AMA yesterday, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller said that a "large" new Overwatch feature will be announced "in the timeframe between soon and really soon."

And that's all we really know about it, although I can say that it probably isn't an Apex Legends-style ping system, if for some reason that seemed likely. In an answer to a different question, Keller said that the dev team has made a working prototype of a ping system and is "excited" about it, but that he doesn't want to promise anything prematurely. Maybe it'll be added when Overwatch 2 launches. 

Regarding the OW2 release date, it doesn't have one yet—next year seems likely—but technical director John Lafleur said in the AMA that there will "almost certainly" be a beta testing phase sometime before launch.

"If I knew when, I couldn't tell you," wrote Lafleur on Reddit. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

As for the mystery feature, Blizzard's idea of "soon" varies too much to say anything definitive, but "really soon" perhaps puts us in the range of one to three months. I'm just guessing.

Elsewhere in the AMA, Lafleur commented on the graphical features of Overwatch 2, saying that its engine will be an extension of the original game's technical foundation that includes "many optimizations, better lighting, and many new features." During last week's Overwatch 2 PvP stream, we also got to hear some of the revamped audio with better directional sound and new effects for many weapons (Soldier 76's rifle was highlighted).

"PvE has also allowed us to look much more at how our environments tell our story, so we've added many features that help with that," wrote Lafleur. "In addition, since the hardware landscape has changed a lot since Overwatch was launched, we're taking the opportunity (both on the artist side and the technical side) to beef up our high end features and assets."
Elsewhere in the AMA, Lafleur commented on the graphical features of Overwatch 2, saying that its engine will be an extension of the original game's technical foundation that includes "many optimizations, better lighting, and many new features." During last week's Overwatch 2 PvP stream, we also got to hear some of the revamped audio with better directional sound and new effects for many weapons (Soldier 76's rifle was highlighted).

"PvE has also allowed us to look much more at how our environments tell our story, so we've added many features that help with that," wrote Lafleur. "In addition, since the hardware landscape has changed a lot since Overwatch was launched, we're taking the opportunity (both on the artist side and the technical side) to beef up our high end features and assets."