Orisa likely going live in Overwatch "later in the month" after extended PTR session

Overwatch players will just have to wait for their new favourite robot pal.

Overwatch fans had expected new hero Orisa to go live this week, following the pattern of previous character reveals - but she probably won't.

Writing on the Overwatch forums on Battle.net, game director Jeff Kaplan said Orisa needs to stay in the oven for a bit longer than usual.

"We're leaving Orisa on the PTR for a little while. We're getting great feedback and fixing a lot of issues," he wrote.

"I know this feels a little longer than other PTR periods, but we think it will be for the better. We know how anxious you all are to have Orisa join your ranks... and she will soon... but most likely she will go live later in the month rather than this early."

The latest Overwatch PTR build includes changes to Orisa from her initial configuration, as well as an overhaul to Ana. It's interesting to see a new character be iterated on publicly before going live.

While some console fans are frustrated with how long it takes for new content to reach them (as are we all), it certainly seems like Overwatch balance changes could do with a bit more testing than they've had recently; see Bastion, for example.

Some critics reckon the Overwatch PTR isn't doing its job, although it sounds like not many Overwatch players use the PTR, which must exacerbate the problem.

So it's not terribly surprising that Overwatch PTR sessions may last a little longer nowadays - and hopefully the end result will be worth it.