News
Overwatch Patch 1.25 Now Live
A brand new patch for Overwatch has gone live and we have all the details regarding Patch 1.25, which aims to upgrade to experience while setting the table for a new hero and potentially more.
The main takeaway is the re-working of Symmetra in what is a much needed, long-awaited overhaul to the hero, as well as major changes to the Horizon Lunar Colony.
Here are the official patch notes:
Endorsements
Acknowledge your fellow Overwatch players’ positivity with endorsements! Recognize commendable behavior for players exhibiting sportsmanship, being a good teammate, or for shot calling. Commend players who lead you to victory, put the team’s needs above their own, or exhibit humility in victory or grace in defeat. Endorsements are readily available to view on Career Profiles, the Groups menu, and more so you can tell at a glance the types of players you’re playing with. Those who consistently maintain a high endorsement level will receive periodic rewards, while those who display negative behavior or accrue suspensions will lose their endorsements.
Looking for Group
Play your way using the Looking for Group feature! You can control your gameplay experience before stepping into a match by using specific parameters to create your dream team. Join a team of other like-minded players or lead a group of your own by creating a group with your personal preferences such as game mode, role enforcement, and more. Those who want to queue up for Quick Play, Play vs AI, or any competitive mode can set the types of roles others can play. These specifications will then be activated in-game (e.g. players who chose a support role will be restricted to only using heroes in that category).
GENERAL UPDATES
GENERAL
- All heroes in the Defense and Offense categories have been merged into a new category: Damage
- Combat can now be heard 25% further away
- Changed the name of the Varok spray to Saurfang
- [PC] Players must have Blizzard SMS Protect enabled on their account to be eligible for the Top 500
- The Acknowledge and Interact buttons are now separate input bindings
CAREER PROFILE
- Added an Inspire Uptime Percentage statistic for Brigitte on the Career Profile
- Removed some statistics for Symmetra on the Career Profile
- Added a Scoped Critical Hit Accuracy statistic for Widowmaker on the Career Profile
- Career Profiles will no longer be public by default (now defaults to Friends Only). An option to make Career Profiles visible has been added under Options > Social > Profile Visibility
ARCADE UPDATES
GENERAL
- Symmetra can now be played in 1v1 duel game modes (e.g. 1v1 Limited Duel and 1v1 Mystery Duel)
HERO UPDATES
DOOMFIST
METEOR STRIKE
- Bonus movement speed increased from 150% to 200%
THE BEST DEFENSE…
- Shield gain increased from 30 to 35 for normal abilities
MCCREE
DEADEYE
- Range increased from 70 meters to 200 meters
ORISA
SUPERCHARGER
- Ultimate cost reduced by 15%
SYMMETRA
PHOTON PROJECTOR
- No longer locks onto targets
- Range increased to 10 meters
- Damage ramping now takes 2 seconds per damage level instead of 1 second
- Damage ramp increased from 30/60/120 to 60/120/180
- Now generates ammo instead of spending it when hitting a barrier
- Ammo reduced from 100 to 70
ALTERNATE FIRE
- No longer pierces targets
- Now explodes on contact
- Projectile speed increased
- Charge up speed increased
- Damage changed to 60 impact / 60 explosive
SENTRY TURRET
- Turret is now placed like a projectile instead of being set in place
- Can hold a max of 3, down from 6
- Can now deploy a max 3, down from 6
- Damage increased
- Amount of slowing effect increased
TELEPORTER
- Can now place the exit up to 25 meters away from Symmetra
- Entrance will automatically be built in front of Symmetra, rather than at her team’s spawn point
- Lasts 10 seconds
- Health lowered to 300
- More things can teleport through it (e.g. Junkrat’s RIP-Tire)
- Entrance can be destroyed
- If either the entrance or exit is destroyed, the other is removed
NEW ULTIMATE: PHOTON BARRIER
- Deploys a barrier that is big enough to span and cut through an entire map
- Orientation can be changed by pressing the ultimate button again
- Lasts 15 seconds
- Has 5000 health
MAP UPDATES
HORIZON LUNAR COLONY
Developer Comments: We’ve wanted to make some gameplay improvements to Horizon Lunar Colony for some time now. The defenders’ spawn room had a problem with its main exit that allowed defenders to quickly duck back inside and regain health while attackers shot at them without doing damage. Since we were already reworking the entire back area, we decided to make some more changes addressing player feedback. The idea behind the rework of Point A was to not only help the defenders a bit, but also provide some gameplay options aside from sitting on the point and trying to hold it for as long as possible. Easier access to high ground, as well as limiting the routes for attackers (or at least allowing for defenders to more easily spot the attackers), will allow more opportunity for counters and create a better gameplay experience.We’ve made a lot of additions and changes to the art throughout the map for you to discover as well.
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Point A
- Added a staircase on the right when exiting the Hydroponics Room
- Removed the door to the lower room on the right
- Removed the small wall on the catwalk above Point A
- Added some cover walls to the catwalk area
- Moved the door next to the staircase that led to Winston’s room
- The door is now on the side of the wall in the training pit
- Moved the large health pack to the back of the room
- Removed some clutter in the upper left computer room
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Hydroponics Room
- Switched the positions of the large and small health pack
- Changed some of the hydroponic plant cover on the right
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Point B
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Defender spawn room exits moved from the front to the sides out of direct line of fire
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Small rooms added at spawn room exits
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Additional cover added near the spawn room exits
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Added a route and larger platform leading to the back right corner
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Raised the platform to the same height as the attackers’ platform on the opposite side of the point
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The location of the old defender exit is now an alcove with a small health pack
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Both teams can still pass behind the point, but there is now a cut-through in the middle of the wall for better access
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The area above the window overlooking the point is now covered
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A large platform with cover has been attached to the left side of the catwalk
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The upper platform for the attackers has been reduced
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The doorway leading to the platform is slightly smaller
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Console
Microsoft Unveils Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit


Xbox has officially unveiled the Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit which is aimed to help creators reduce energy consumption and measure carbon emissions during game development processes.
The Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit includes resources that include:
- Power Monitor tools
- Certification reports
- Power consumption dashboards
- Best practices
Ubisoft and 343 Industries were named as early users of the Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit with 343 Industries able to reduce energy use by 15% without impacting the player experience at all.
Ubisoft and Xbox are co-developing an energy-efficient eco-mode for users.
You can check out the full report right here.
Business
Epic Games Store Hits $820 Million in Player Spending During 2022


Epic Games has officially released financial data related to it’s growing marketplace on PC, showing that $820 million was spent on the Epic Games Store during the 2022 year, and promised support for third-party subscription services and new ‘content hubs’ to help companies promote their titles.
According to the data:
The numbers
- Total users of Epic Games Store PC: 230 million (up 19% year-on-year)
- Epic cross-platform accounts: 732 million
- Daily active users peak: 34.3 million
- Monthly active users: 68 million (up 10%)
- Total spending, incl. Epic’s games: $820 million (down 2%)
- Spending on third-party games: $355 million (up 18%)
- Free games claimed: 700 million
- Number of new PC releases: 626
- Total library of PC games: 1,548 (up 68%)
Epic Games stated on it’s blog that more PC games launched during the 2022 year than in any year prior.
Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Rocket League, Genshin Impact, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were among the most popular titles related to player engagement and player spending, and Epic Games looks to deepen their focus in 2023 as they aim to improve the store launcher’s performance.
Epic Games also aims to add support for subscription services from third-party publishers and live service products by the end of the 2023 year, adding that they are also working on ‘content hubs’ which will be separate from product pages and will enable publishers to “share information with users in a robust editorial format.”
Business
California Judge Dismisses Gamers Lawsuit Filed Against Microsoft


A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the group of 10 plaintiffs “[lacked] allegations” in their lawsuit filed last year that claimed Microsoft’s ownerships of Activision Blizzard would harm consumers and competition in the video games market, according to a filing shared by Reuters.
While US District Judge Jacqueline Corley dismissed the case, she also gave the plaintiffs 20 days to refine their lawsuit and resubmit it, and the group’s lawyer, Joseph Saveri, said that there are plans to officially submit an amended lawsuit with “additional factual detail” that will address the judge’s concerns.
It marks a victory for Microsoft, but their battles are far from over as they still face a hearing over the Federal Trade Commission’s legal complaint, which is currently slated to take place in August of this year.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard originally expected the transaction to be complete by June 30, 2023.
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