Overwatch 2, the sequel to Activision Blizzard’s hit hero shooter Overwatch, is finally launching in October after first being announced in 2019. One major change is the shift to five-on-five matches in PVP, and Blizzard is also adding new characters, including Overwatch’s first Black female hero. The PVP multiplayer will be available in early access on October 4th and will be free to play. The PVE portion will be released at a later date.
Catch up on The Verge’s coverage of the game right here.
Overwatch 2’s season 3 changes make Mercy weaker
And Reinhardt’s Earthshatter isn’t going to be as deadly.
Introducing the Overwatch 2 dating sim
In a limited-time Valentine’s Day event, players can participate in a dating sim mini-game, allowing them to pursue either Mercy or Genji.
Overwatch 2 is making it easier and cheaper for you to get older skins
Just in time for season 3, Blizzard is overhauling its skin shop to address players’ pricing concerns.
Overwatch 2’s Battle For Olympus event is a step in the right direction
Overwatch 2’s seemingly regular release of new limited-time events is poised to give the game staying power Overwatch 1 lacked.
Blizzard offers Overwatch 2 holiday skin for cheap amid pricing controversy
Get the Gingerbread Bastion for a single Overwatch coin.
The Overwatch League World Cup is back
After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic and Blizzard’s legal issues, the Overwatch World Cup will return in 2023.
- ADon’t you forget about me.
The folks at the Overwatch League Head Office shared a Grand Finals highlight video capturing all the match’s best moments. Since this is coming more than a month after the Grand Finals ended,
I have the suspicion that during this offseason — with no word how long it’ll be or in what capacity the Overwatch League will return when the fate of its four Chinese teams and the handful of teams that practice with them is up in the air thanks to the deal between Blizzard and its Chinese publishing partner NetEase has now dissolved — Blizzard wants to remind fans of all the fun they had watching in-person and online.
Ramattra will be easier to earn in the Overwatch 2 battle pass
With the arrival of season 2, Overwatch 2 developers are lowering the level at which the new hero is acquired.
Overwatch 2’s Season 2 is a battle for Olympus
We’re getting new maps, a new hero, a new game event, and lots of new skins, including a mythic Junker Queen skin that is incredibly sexy.
- RThe “Zeus” skin for Junker Queen is the star of the Overwatch 2, season two trailer.
Polygon has a breakdown of Overwatch 2 changes coming December 6th along with the shapeshifting new tank Ramattra.
tl;dr — Sojourn’s getting a sniper nerf, Blizzard World is back in the rotation, and logging in before the end of S1 unlocks either all three new characters for Overwatch 1 players, or two of the three new heroes new players.
But if you’re waiting for Zeus Junker Queen, that’s coming as part of an Olympus LTM available from January 5th until January 19th.
Mei day: Overwatch 2 frees controversial hero
After a brief hiatus from the game, Mei’s back, along with a host of other hero tweaks and bug fixes.
Overwatch 2’s newest hero is the scary but sexy Ramattra
Ramattra’s ability to shape-shift makes him a tank, the likes of which Overwatch 2 has never seen before.
Overwatch 2 is putting Mei... *on ice*
Mei is being temporarily disabled to address a glitch with her Ice Wall ability
Bastion and Torbjörn have been temporarily removed from Overwatch 2
Glitches resulted in the heroes being taken removed from certain game modes or disabled completely
Blizzard will be taking Overwatch 2 offline again
Blizzard took the game’s servers down twice on Thursday to fix some issues, and it will do so once again on Friday to patch things up.
Overwatch 2’s new animated short is a new introduction to Kiriko
Blizzard shared the cinematic during TwitchCon 2022
Blizzard is taking Overwatch 2 offline to make some fixes
If you planned to play Thursday night, you might want to do something else
Overwatch 2 is less of a sequel and more of a remix
Second verse, same as the first
Blizzard reveals a suite of Overwatch 2 tools to fight cheaters and toxic players
Overwatch 2 will feature a new onboarding experience, require valid phone numbers to play, and will monitor abusive voice chats.
Overwatch 2 loses lead hero designer just before sequel launches
And days after the 35th hero was revealed
October 2nd is Overwatch’s last day on earth
Blizzard’s taking down the servers in preparation for Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 developers explain the new battle pass
Heroes are now gated behind battle pass progression. Here’s why that might not suck.
Overwatch 2’s new heroes won’t be free
New tweets suggest you’ll have to earn them via play or pay
Overwatch 2 players can now merge accounts to get their old gear
Starting today, you can merge your Overwatch accounts to share progression and in-game cosmetics
Overwatch 2 will replace the original Overwatch
Blizzard revealed in a Reddit AMA that the two games will merge on October 4th
Everything we know about Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 is going free-to-play, ditching loot boxes, and committing to a more consistent content schedule
Overwatch 2 will get rid of loot boxes
As the game transitions to a free-to-play, seasonal content model, the controversial loot award system will be replaced with an in-game shop
Overwatch 2’s next beta kicks off at the end of June, and it’s coming to PlayStation and Xbox
You can sign up beginning June 16th
Overwatch 2 will be free to play and has an early access release date
It launches on October 4th
As the Overwatch 2 beta ends, a new Overwatch remix event begins
Blizzard also announced an Overwatch 2 event for June
Blizzard is hoping Overwatch 2 leads to a superb OWL season 5
Overwatch League commissioner Sean Miller shares his thoughts on what a new game will do for the League
How to get into the Overwatch 2 beta
Watching Overwatch 2 streamers on Twitch can get you beta access
Overwatch 2’s new hero Sojourn was a long time coming
An exclusive chat with developers about Overwatch’s first Black female hero
The Overwatch 2 closed beta starts April 26th on PC only
An alpha test is already underway, but emails will invite some Overwatch 1 players to try out the new game
The Overwatch 2 closed beta will finally let you play as a Black woman
The closed alpha starts today, but players can sign up for the beta in April
Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV delayed again with no release date in sight
Release dates now likely for 2023
Blizzard shows off Overwatch 2’s new 5 vs. 5 multiplayer and a trio of maps
Still no word on a release date
Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 aren’t launching this year
Blizzard’s two biggest games will have to wait