Overwatch 2's Ping System Will Help You Track Your Enemies (Unless They Vanish)

Overwatch 2 is getting a ping system, which has been pretty much a must-have for every shooter title since Apex Legends debuted with the feature three years ago. Details of how the system would work were described in today's dev diary, and it's got all the basics that you'd expect: Hold down a button, pull up a wheel, and select an alert to be conveyed to your teammates.

Some of Overwatch's characters aren't so easy to track, however. When one breaks line of sight, your ping will call out his or her last known position. If they completely vanish -- think Reaper's Shadow Step or Sombra's Translocator -- the ping will fall off completely.

The ping menu offers other communication options, mirroring a similar system in Overwatch, letting you call out to your teammates where you want to attack or if you need to group up -- and yes, Genji fans, one of the options is "I need healing."

The system will certainly be welcomed by fans, but if you needed a reason as to why it's being implemented, have no fear, as that's spelled out in eye-rolling detail at the start of the article:

"The inspiration behind the ping system came from a value the Overwatch team holds dearly: Every Voice Matters. This is a core value at Blizzard, and the Overwatch team wanted to personify this value in our game."

As we know by now, however, Blizzard's "Every Voice Matters" motto only applies if you're not talking about unions, support for Hong Kong, and especially sexual harassment. In fact, there was a new lawsuit filed recently by a current employee that alleges "rampant sexism." When she complained to higher-ups, she was told to "keep those concerns to herself to avoid 'damaging' the company."

That's why we'll continue to provide the following disclaimer on every Activision Blizzard article we publish until the culture at the company is fixed or the Sun devours the Earth a few billion years from now. Right now, I don't know which one I'd place bets on happening first.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.