Exploring a New Universe in Starwatch: Galactic Rescue

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Starwatch: Galactic Rescue is live, and the fight for the universe is on! Have you been fighting with the Watchers in their rescue mission, or do you serve the Infinite Empire? Only time will tell which side prevails, but in the meantime, we’d like to share how the team built this new world within Overwatch.

Starwatch takes place among the planets and stars, so ensuring we could deliver an environment that felt like a space opera was important. The first step was to design the interior of a starship. With the launch of Overwatch 2, we removed Assault (2CP) maps from the core game mode lineup—meaning there are some amazing maps that aren't currently being used in game—and we saw this opportunity to bring back Horizon: Lunar Colony.

Horizon: Lunar Colony was a perfect fit because it already has a very sci-fi feel within its design language. So, we transformed this map from a lunar colony into a starship that sets the stage for an epic space opera adventure.

The new mode takes place on the Infinite Galactrius, the flagship of Galactic Emperor Sigma, leader of the Infinite Empire. When first approaching the design for the starship, senior lighting artist Peter Tran already had a vision for the map. “Initially, I wanted to keep things relatively simple but while iterating on the lighting for this event, it became such an awesome and exciting passion project for all of us. At some point, I realized that simple lighting wouldn't do it justice, and that’s when we doubled down on the darker, moodier lighting for this event.”

When it came to changing the actual look of the map, senior environment artist Tim Wasson also had a clear vision set in mind. “With such big ideas for a dramatic environment transformation, Starwatch became an