'Overwatch' will get free add-ons after launch, including new maps and characters

“Overwatch,” the highly anticipated multiplayer shooter from Blizzard, continues to gain momentum ahead of its release date, as the developers have confirmed that the game will be getting plenty of free content post-launch. While all of the details regarding the post-launch add-ons haven’t been completely revealed, fans will be happy to know that new characters and maps are part of it.

The move comes as a sigh of relief for most online gamers, since paid downloadable content (DLC) has been a common complaint about the current generation of gaming. While an article from Game Informer expects “Overwatch” to have microtransactions at some point, it reportedly wouldn’t be much of a problem if it were just exclusive skins for characters.

Fans also shouldn’t expect the free add-ons right away when the game is released, as PC Gamer has confirmed that there’s still no timeframe for new heroes and environments. This shouldn’t be much of a problem as well since the development team is probably working out any possible bugs or glitches in the game.

Adding new characters for free is a big deal for the game, since “Overwatch” already has numerous ones to choose from at launch. The game will supposedly mix up first-person shooting with the tactics seen in a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, which should be interesting, to say the least.

It seems like “Overwatch” continues to blow away any expectations that cynical gamers have in mind about it. Many expected the title to be a free-to-play online game with microtransactions and were shocked to find out that the base game would be US$39.99 (AU$55.34), with a special origins collection available for US$59.99 (AU$83.03).

Gamers everywhere were also pleasantly surprised to find out that “Overwatch” wouldn’t be a PC exclusive and would be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One as well. The developers have assured fans that “Overwatch” plays just as well on consoles as it does on computers, though fans will have to wait to confirm that.

“Overwatch” will launch sometime next spring, with 21 heroes immediately available for use. It’s not yet known how many more characters will be added to the mix or how differently they will play. The one thing that is clear is “Overwatch” continues to be one of the most anticipated games of 2016.