Jeff Kaplan says new Developer Update scheduled “toward the end of the month”

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Overwatch fans can expect a new batch of information at the end of the month. The latest Developer Update video is already recorded and should be live in the weeks to come, according to game director Jeff Kaplan. He visited the Blizzard Forums in anticipation of the video’s release and said that the developer team will attempt to update fans more often.

“We recently recorded a developer update,” Kaplan said. “It is scheduled to come out toward the end of the month. We’ll try to do them more frequently.”

Developer Updates are videos containing key information about the state and the future of the game. They’re hosted by Jeff Kaplan on behalf of the Overwatch team and usually contain a deep dive into a specific element in the game. Sigma’s Developer Update, for instance, delves into his backstory and explains his kit, while the video on the Workshop shares some of the decisions and insights behind the addition of the feature.

The videos used to be released with some regularity to announce changes, reworks, and new features, but they’ve decreased in frequency. The most recent video showcases Sigma, the latest hero to join the roster, and was launched last July.

It’s possible that the radio silence is caused by the developer team’s focus on creating a sequel. Last November, Jeff Kaplan said that Overwatch 2 would slow down updates for the first installment of the franchise, but there have been a series of balancing patches in the meantime that could have warranted their own video.

The developer update could announce a significant change for Overwatch. Streamer Jeff “Emongg” Anderson teased the reveal of major news for the franchise in “a couple of weeks,” but refused to say exactly what it was. Parts of the community have speculated that it could be the addition of hero bans, but there’s no official statement from Blizzard pointing toward that.

Fans may have to wait a few weeks until the developer team breaks its silence, but they can pass the time by jumping into Overwatch’s Lunar New Year event. The Year of the Rat made its way to the servers last week and will last until Feb. 5. Players can unlock new skins through loot boxes, with credits, or through in-game challenges, and skins from previous versions of the events are also available to unlock for a limited time.