Talantis
About Talantis
Talantis is the most unique map in Overwatch history — the first and only map designed by the community. Created live during a December 2022 Twitch stream called "Twitch Makes Overwatch," the map was built in real time by the Overwatch development team based on viewer votes and suggestions. Senior Game Director Aaron Keller, Art Director Dion Rogers, and Community Manager Andy Belford fielded live community input and translated it into an actual playable map within hours.
The concept: an underwater city built into the ruins of a mythical sunken civilization inspired by Atlantis — repurposed by Talon as a hidden base of operations. The name itself is a portmanteau of "Talon" and "Atlantis." Blizzard explicitly confirmed the map is non-canon, treating it as a fun creative experiment rather than part of the official Overwatch story.
The design philosophy drew from classic 1990s FPS maps — jump pads, environmental hazards, floating platforms, and multiple vertical approach routes. The result is a Control map unlike anything else in the pool, rewarding mobile heroes and punishing passive play.
Control Mode — How It Works
Control is a best-of-three format where both teams fight to capture and hold a single objective. The first team to reach 100% capture wins the round. Win two rounds to win the match. The control point location rotates between sub-maps each round.
Attacking
Contest the point quickly and maintain presence. Stagger opponents to prevent clean retakes and snowball percentage gains.
Defending
Hold your percentage lead and prevent the enemy from contesting. Use jump pads and elevated positions to contest from range.
Map Layout
Jump Pads
Multiple jump pads throughout the arena offer up to five different approach routes to the control point. Use them to reach unexpected angles or escape fights quickly.
Elevator Access
A central elevator gives vertical access to the control point platform. Controlling the elevator is key to dominating the objective.
Environmental Hazard
Sections of the floor periodically collapse open, sending players who are standing on them into the water below. Watch your positioning during these intervals.
Floating Platforms
Scattered floating platforms reward mobile heroes and create dynamic sightlines. Heroes with vertical mobility have a distinct advantage on this map.
The Community Stream Story
On December 6, 2022, the Overwatch team went live on Twitch with a mission: let the community build a real map in real time. Viewers voted on everything — setting, obstacles, hazards, visual theme. The stream ran for several hours as the dev team rapidly translated viewer input into an actual playable blockout.
The result — Talantis — was polished and released in Overwatch 2's Season 4 Arcade rotation from April 25 to May 8, 2023. Its intentionally raw textures and experimental layout were preserved as a feature, not a bug, celebrating the spirit of the community collaboration.
Trivia & History
- The first community-made map in Overwatch history
- Designed live during a December 2022 Twitch stream called "Twitch Makes Overwatch"
- Senior Game Director Aaron Keller, Art Director Dion Rogers, and Community Manager Andy Belford built it in real time based on viewer votes
- The entire initial blockout was created in just a few hours during a single stream
- Explicitly confirmed to be non-canon to the Overwatch story universe
- The name is a portmanteau of "Talon" and "Atlantis"
- Released with Season 4 on April 25, 2023 — available in Arcade from April 25 to May 8, 2023
- The design philosophy deliberately references classic 1990s FPS map design from Quake and Unreal Tournament
- Sections of the arena floor periodically open, dropping any player standing on them into the water below