Update: Overwatch got in at the 11th hour, announcing the Summer Games event starting one week from now on August 8th. So, it looks like our skepticism regarding the supposed leak of the event starting tomorrow was well-placed. Watch the developer update below:
Original Story: The Overwatch community is in something of a tizzy following the Overwatch news today, in that there’s none of it. No news, no announcement, no trailer, no teaser for a trailer – no nothing. And, on any other day, that absence wouldn’t be cause for discord among Overwatch fans. But today is a Tuesday.
In case you’re not in the know, Overwatch – more often than not – updates on Tuesdays. Furthermore, concrete details from Overwatch‘s impending Summer Games event have leaked several days ago, including achievements from Lucio Ball all the way back to the leak that predicted Doomfist being called the “Summer Games” patch. Also, Blizzard’s MO with Overwatch events is to announce them a week in advance of the patch that actually adds the event.
So, in the minds of Overwatch players, the Summer Games event won’t be starting until at least August 15th, which just isn’t sitting well with the folks on Reddit and the Overwatch forums. But let’s unpack all of this and find out exactly when the Summer Games event could be hitting Overwatch.
Today, August 1, 2017
Probably Not.
I mean … I suppose there’s still time, right? I can’t rule this out, and neither will the Overwatch faithfuls who insist that the event is coming soon no matter what they hear. That said, it’s getting pretty late into the day for a big announcement, let alone a release, and this would go against the Overwatch team’s MO of announcing events a week in advance. If it was announced today, though, it would be released on August 8th.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Could be.
Assuming Blizzard is sticking to what they do for every event, the Overwatch Summer Games event would be announced next Tuesday (since there doesn’t seem to be an impending announcement today), which means the actual event will start the following Tuesday and run for three weeks until Sept. 4. That said, they’re sort of pushing the limits on Summer there, aren’t they? And really, how long do they need?
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Decent Chance.
I hear what you’re saying: “A Thursday??? Are you nuts???” Well maybe, but hear me out. Assuming that the event isn’t coming out this week or being announced today, which seems likely, it also seems unlikely that they would wait as long as next week to even announce the dang thing, so that suggests that an announcement will be sometime between now and next week.
Inb4: “But they never announce things or release patches on Thursdays!” They do, actually. Auresa was announced on a Thursday and patched in that same day. Also, Doomfist was just released to the public on all servers last Thursday. It happens. Sure, it hasn’t happened for an event, but it happens, and, if Blizzard is shaking things up, this could very well be the time. If they announce this Thursday, it could start either next Tuesday, August 8, or the following Thursday on August 10. I’d buy either one.
Tomorrow, August 2, 2017
Likely.
Even I’m calling shenanigans on an event starting on a Wednesday with no prior announcement. That said, that’s where the evidence is pointing. A popular Discord server of Dataminers found a string of code that points to details of the Summer Games event, as well as its potential start date, saying “The Summer Games return for more fun in the sun! Your favorites from last year are back alongside 40+ new items!” followed by a string of numbers with one listing “August 2 – August 23.”
This code is from the PTR patch 1.14, which just released, with a suspiciously large file size of more than 4 gigabytes. Bill Warnecke said this was because the patch contained “file format changes,” which accounted for its size, but the more conspiracy-minded readers will take that as a thinly-veiled coverup for something more juicy. Just like that, with no prior announcement, on a Wednesday is seeming more likely.
That said, this is a PTR patch, and the dates listed are the exact same dates as the Summer Games event last year, so one of three things is possible here: 1) This is a coincidence. 2) Overwatch is being needlessly traditional. 3) These are just placeholder dates, as the code for this year’s Summer Games event is likely very similar to last year’s and is just in because it’s a temporary patch. I’ll let you decide, but I’m of the more empirically minded sort, meaning this is still the most convincing option. See you all tomorrow!
