Blizzard Entertainment has released a brand-new update for their hit multiplayer shooter Overwatch, and it comes with a rather large surprise: Havana. The new Overwatch Havana map is escort based and is the second new location to hit the game in 2019. The game is, most definitely, alive and well.

It has been rumoured for quite a while now that a new map would come to the game. No one expected it so early, however, as it barely dropped a few months after players could finally visit Paris. It must be noted that this is not the first time Overwatch players have seen Havana. The Overwatch Havana map has been playable on the PTR since April. It also featured in a recent living world update on all platforms.

Now fans can get a taste of Havana. As an escort map, players can expect to see the usual defence and offence rulesets, where one team defends three points while the opposing team has to move a tram through the map. As with all other escort maps, the tram is themed around the map itself; and Havana is filled with barrels of rum! Way to keep the stereotype alive, Blizzard! I certainly love it.

According to Blizzard, the official blurb for the Overwatch Havana map states that the location is where one of the infamous members of Talon’s council, Maximilien, once operated. It reads: “For a time, this shadowy organisation plagued the local populace with their corruption and crime. Eventually, an Overwatch Strike team was deployed to extract Maximilien with the purpose of gaining intel on a mysterious Talon counterpart, Doomfist”. Doomfist is a recent new hero that came to the game in 2018 – super intriguing.

Along with the new Overwatch Havana map, update version 1.35.1.1 also includes two new Legendary skins that celebrate Overwatch League 2019 All-Stars. The skins are specifically for Mercy and Lucio. Blizzard states that players will have from the inception of the new update (available now), right until 22 May 2019 to earn the skins. Players can also expect to see a few bug fixes and improvements under the hood.

Strangely enough, the Overwatch Havana map is not the only map making waves among Overwatch players. Players on the test servers have enjoyed a map named Numbani for months. A few weeks ago, however, the map has been pulled from the PTR without any notice from Blizzard. This sparked rumours that the map might release on the live servers pretty soon. While a map has been released, it is most certainly not Numbani!

The recent 1.35.1.1 update was accompanied by a statement from Overwatch developer Dan Maas, who acknowledged that the map was pulled because it required much needed “care and handling”. Maas stated that players on the PTR can expect to see the map in the rotation once more. He said that “since the arrival of Efi and Orisa to Numbani, it has required some minor care and handling in the Overwatch universe. [Blizzard] recently neglected that care and regular service to Numbani international was interrupted”. While clearly fictional, I admire Maas’ twist on the explanation. He continued that “with the arrival of the sunny Havana destination, service to Numbani (just as it was before) has also been restored”.

[Sources: Dexerto, Digital Trends, PC Gamer, News Week, Youtube]

Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.