Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2
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Overwatch 2 PvP Beta Analysis: How Data and Community Feedback Inform Game Balance
Heroes of Overwatch, let's talk data!
A New Journey is Right Around the Corner: Overwatch 2 PvP Beta Wrap-Up
Our first Overwatch 2 PvP Beta has ended!
Overwatch 2 PvP Beta: Week 2 Developer Blog
The team is back for another developer blog after week 2 of the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta!
Overwatch 2 PvP Beta: Week 1 Developer Blog
An update from the team about what we’re learning from the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta!
It’s time to reunite and stand with your fellow heroes. The Closed Beta heralds a new era of epic competition; we’re inviting you to travel the world and experience exhilarating new ways to play as you brawl it out on the battlefield. Dive into action, unleash your power, and spearhead the vanguard of Overwatch history. The future is worth fighting for–will you join the fray?
Several extraordinary heroes will be joining the current soldiers, scientists, and adventurers of Overwatch. Whether you like to lead the charge as a tank, ambush enemies with powerful damage, or empower and aid your allies, there’s a new hero for you–and many more to come.
Accompanying this new era of Overwatch is a major update to Team vs. Team competition: the implementation of 5v5 combat. This change in team composition will allow every player to have more individual impact than ever before and will transform tank heroes into aggressive bruisers who pack raw, game-changing power in each of their kits. Enjoy high-octane battlefield brawls and more gameplay clarity than ever before as you crush the competition.
Additional game modes will join the existing lineup of ways to play, bringing more objectives to capture, strategies to explore, and secrets to unearth. The first to come will be Push . In this new, symmetrical map type, teams will battle to take control of a robot that begins in a central location, then push it toward the enemy base.
Bring the fight to new destinations as the scope of PvP expands. Travel the world, savor breathtaking sights, and clash on the streets of iconic locations like New York City, Rome, Monte Carlo, Toronto, and more.
Get ready to experience some of your favorite heroes in new and dramatically different ways. Shake things up with massive reworks for familiar faces, including Doomfist, Orisa, Bastion, and more
Experience thousands of new voice lines, more narrative experiences, striking skins and other cosmetics, a complete combat audio overhaul, and more–all running on an updated game engine.
The sovereign of the Scrapyard has arrived—all hail the Queen! Deigning to grace the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta with her presence, the Junker Queen is here to brawl with the best and claim her throne above the rest.
Thank you for opting-in and participating in the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta. Please stay tuned to this website and our social media channels for future product news.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

^ Chalk, Andy (May 20, 2021). "Overwatch 2 PvP will be 5v5 with only one Tank per team" . PC Gamer . Archived from the original on May 20, 2021 . Retrieved May 20, 2021 .

^ Jump up to: a b Nunneley, Stephany (February 20, 2021). "Overwatch 2 features "hundreds" of Hero Missions, character dialogues, updated hero looks, dynamic maps, more" . VG247 . Archived from the original on February 21, 2021 . Retrieved February 20, 2021 .

^ McWherter, Michael (March 24, 2022). "Overwatch 2 is getting a ping system; here's how it works" . Polygon . Retrieved March 25, 2022 .

^ Park, Morgan (November 4, 2019). "Overwatch 2: Everything we know about the unconventional sequel" . PC Gamer . Archived from the original on November 5, 2019 . Retrieved November 8, 2019 .

^ Hussain, Tamoor (February 25, 2021). "Overwatch 2: Jeff Kaplan On Expanding Story, Refining Gameplay, And Beards" . GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 27, 2021 . Retrieved February 27, 2021 .

^ Jump up to: a b c Domanico, Michael (November 1, 2019). "Blizzard Announces Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon" . IGN . Archived from the original on November 1, 2019 . Retrieved November 1, 2019 .

^ "Overwatch 2 will get rid of loot boxes" . June 16, 2022.

^ "Overwatch 2 ditches loot boxes for battle pass, seasonal model" . Polygon . June 16, 2022.

^ "Blizzard details Overwatch account merging ahead of cross-progression launch" . Eurogamer.net . August 17, 2022 . Retrieved August 18, 2022 .

^ "Cross-progression is coming to Overwatch 2: Account merge FAQ" . Overwatch . Retrieved August 18, 2022 .

^ Walker, Alex (November 5, 2019). "Convincing Blizzard To Merge Overwatch 1 And 2 Was 'Very Challenging' " . Kotaku . Archived from the original on November 4, 2019 . Retrieved November 5, 2019 .

^ Chalk, Andy (November 1, 2019). "Overwatch 2 announced: New heroes, co-op story missions, and more" . PC Gamer . Archived from the original on November 1, 2019 . Retrieved November 1, 2019 .

^ Cryer, Hirun (June 23, 2022). "Overwatch 2 will replace Overwatch at launch, Blizzard confirms" . GamesRadar . Retrieved June 23, 2022 .

^ Jump up to: a b Reiner, Andrew (November 5, 2019). "Details On An Unannounced Overwatch 2 Hero" . Game Informer . Archived from the original on November 5, 2019 . Retrieved November 7, 2019 .

^ Jump up to: a b McWhertor, Michael (June 12, 2022). "Overwatch 2 launches in October, will be free-to-play" . Polygon . Retrieved June 12, 2022 .

^ Chalk, Andy (November 1, 2019). " 'I have no idea' when Overwatch 2 will be out, Jeff Kaplan says" . PC Gamer . Archived from the original on November 2, 2019 . Retrieved November 1, 2019 .

^ Ramee, Jordan (November 1, 2019). "Overwatch 2 Is Coming To Nintendo Switch" . GameSpot . Archived from the original on November 2, 2019 . Retrieved November 1, 2019 .

^ Bailey, Kat (November 2, 2021). "Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 Delayed" . IGN . Retrieved November 2, 2021 .

^ Grayson, Nathan (November 7, 2019). "Overwatch Stagnated Because of Its Sequel, Says Director" . Kotaku . Archived from the original on November 7, 2019 . Retrieved June 22, 2021 .

^ Makuch, Eddie (May 25, 2021). "Overwatch 2: New Details On Beta, Cross-Play, Ping System, And More" . GameSpot . Archived from the original on May 25, 2021 . Retrieved May 25, 2021 .

^ Vincent, Brittany (March 10, 2022). "Focus on Overwatch 2 left the original game struggling, Blizzard says" . GamesRadar . Retrieved March 12, 2022 .

^ Lawler, Richard (March 18, 2022). "The Overwatch 2 closed beta starts April 26th on PC only" . The Verge . Retrieved March 25, 2022 .

^ "Overwatch 2 PvP Beta" . Overwatch . Retrieved April 26, 2022 .

^ "Welcome to the first Overwatch 2 PvP Beta" . news.blizzard.com . Retrieved April 26, 2022 .

Overwatch 2 is an upcoming first-person shooter developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment . The sequel to the 2016 hero shooter Overwatch , the game is intended to have a shared environment for player-versus-player (PvP) modes with the first game while introducing persistent cooperative modes. A major change in PvP was to reduce team sizes from six to five, which required several characters to be reworked. Overwatch 2 is set to launch as free-to-play on Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Windows , Xbox One , and Xbox Series X/S in early access on October 4, 2022. It will feature full cross-platform play .

Overwatch 2 is a hero shooter , where players are split into two teams and select a "hero" from a roster of more than 30 characters as of 2022. Characters are organized into a "damage" class, responsible for offensive efforts; a "support" class, responsible for healing and buffing; and a "tank" class, responsible for the team's protection. Each character has a unique set of skills, made up of active, passive, and an ultimate ability. Overwatch 2 , like its predecessor, primarily centers on player versus player (PvP) combat across several different modes and maps, and includes both casual and ranked competitive matches.

A major departure from the first game was the choice to remove a tank slot per team thus reducing teams to five players. According to game director Aaron Keller, developers hoped that losing a tank would speed up gameplay as they believed that the original six players scheme rendered gameplay slow. It is also intended to ease the amount of things players and spectators need to watch out for. New maps were designed to include more cover options to compensate for reduced tank-based protection. [1] Additionally, Damage heroes now have an increased movement speed and Support heroes slowly regenerate, while Tank heroes were redesigned so they could take on a more offensive role. Heroes were visually refurbished as to reflect the few years of in-game time that has passed since the events of the first game. [2] Overwatch 2 will furthermore include a ping system to direct the attention of teammates to specific points on the map. [3]

The game also introduces a new PvP mode named "Push", similar to tug of war , teams vie for control of a robot that pushes a team's payload to the opponent's side of the map. Next to being incorporated into Quick and Competitive play, Push will become part of the standard map rotation of the Overwatch League. [4] Some existing gameplay modes may be dropped in Overwatch 2 ; former game director Jeff Kaplan has stated that two control point maps, Paris and Horizon Lunar Colony, will likely not be available in Overwatch 2 as these have been deemed unbalanced in response community feedback. [5]

The game will feature player versus environment (PvE) game modes. Similar to the special seasonal events , they will consist of four-player cooperative missions against non-playable characters and will be available on a permanent as opposed to a seasonal basis. In this mode, players can garner experience points for their hero and unlock new passive abilities called "talents", allowing them to influence how the hero plays. At least two PvE modes will be added; a story-based mission mode, where players are limited to their hero selection in replaying missions based on Overwatch lore, and Hero missions which allow all heroes to be used in fending off waves of enemies at various locations. Blizzard anticipates that Overwatch 2 will offer over 100 different PvE missions, utilizing new maps as well as existing multiplayer maps expanded out to include new areas, and adding in dynamic effects, such as day and night times as well as varying weather conditions. Enemy types will be expanded out from the Null Sector robots that were introduced in the original seasonal PvE events, adding in new types with unique behaviors. [6] [2]

Overwatch 2 will be released as a free-to-play game, rather than a premium priced game. It will also discontinue loot boxes in favor of a battle pass system to be offered on a seasonal basis which will correspond with the introduction of new maps and heroes. The game will also include an in-game store where players can purchase cosmetics directly. [7] [8]

A Battle.net account will be required to play Overwatch 2 , regardless of platform. Overwatch 2 will feature cross-progression, with in-game cosmetic items and progress being shared across PC and console versions. [9] Unlocked cosmetic items, in-game currency, and player statistics from any Overwatch profile linked to such an account will be merged, and will be available on all platforms upon release. Competitive skill ratings will continue to be separate, with console and PC ranks remaining independent of each other. [10]

Overwatch 2 was announced at BlizzCon on November 1, 2019, with plans that the game would maintain a "shared multiplayer environment" between it and the original Overwatch , so that players in either game can compete in the existing player versus player (PvP) game modes, retaining all unlocked cosmetics and other features. [6] Jeff Kaplan explained that this was a major decision and that he had to justify this "player-first standpoint" to Blizzard executives, given the current industry trend to draw in new sales. [11] All new heroes, maps, and PvP modes were to be added to both games to maintain this shared environment. [12] However, Overwatch 2 was later announced as a free-to-play title, and that on its release on October 4, 2022, Blizzard affirmed that Overwatch 2 live services will replace those of the original game. Players will retain their exisiting cosmetics and in-game currency, while the remaining loot boxes will be opened automatically upon release of Overwatch 2 . [13] At least four new heroes will be added to the roster, including Sojourn, a Canadian Overwatch officer, and Junker Queen, the ruler of Junkertown. [14] [15]

Overwatch 2 runs on an upgraded version of the original game's engine which allows for larger map sizes to better support the new story-based PvE elements. [6] Additionally, all of the existing heroes are getting visual redesigns for Overwatch 2 , although Blizzard does not expect every hero to have theirs finished by the time Overwatch 2 launches, with twelve of the existing 31 completed at the time of the game's reveal. [14]

Overwatch 2 is slated to release for Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Windows , Xbox One , and Xbox Series X/S in early access on October 4, 2022. [15] Kaplan stated they were more concerned about quality of the product than timeliness of the release. [16] [17] Investor documents released in November 2021 reported that the initial 2022 release window was delayed to at least 2023, intended for "giving the teams some extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch". [18] Kaplan anticipated that Overwatch and Overwatch 2 will ultimately merge into a single product to avoid having any engine differences affecting player experience. [19] Technical director John Lafleur has stated they are also interested in supporting, at minimum, cross-platform progression and are looking at the possibility of cross-platform play. [20] In March 2022, Blizzard stated that they had put too much focus on Overwatch 2 over the past few years to the detriment of support of the original game, and have changed plans to release Overwatch 2 in parts, with the PvP portion to be released in beta form starting in April 2022 and the PvE part to come at a later time. This would allow them to also continue to support Overwatch alongside Overwatch 2 's development. [21] [22] Later, Blizzard announced that the first wave of Overwatch 2 invitation-only betas would begin on April 26, 2022, and end on May 17. Access to the closed beta could be earned either by signing up for a chance to participate or by watching select Twitch streamers for a limited time on April 27. [23] [24]

October 4, 2022 [a] TBA (Full release)

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Junker Queen could be on her way to Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Competition regulators in the U.K. have raised concerns over Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard. In a response , Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer attempted to convince officials that the acquisition would not meaningfully harm competition. Spencer noted that Microsoft intends to make “Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass and to grow those gaming communities.”
That’s not exactly surprising. Microsoft is determined to increase the number of Game Pass subscribers and give current members plenty good reason to keep paying every month. It was widely expected that Microsoft planned to slot Activision Blizzard games into the library.
But Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game . That raises interesting questions about why it would need to be on Game Pass at all.
The first thing that comes to mind for me is that Overwatch 2 will likely be on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Since it’s free-to-play, Microsoft could offer it independently of a Game Pass subscription, just as it does with Fortnite . That would be an excellent move for Overwatch 2 , particularly given that one of the main aims of the F2P shift is to grow the franchise’s player base.
I’ve long been adamant that cloud gaming can lower the barrier to entry for people who want to try modern games but don’t want to or can’t buy a console or gaming PC. Having Overwatch 2 playable through the cloud would largely be a good thing — even if being able to play it on my phone almost anywhere might prevent me from doing anything else with my life ever again.
It seems the other reason to put Overwatch 2 on Game Pass would be to give subscribers some in-game perks at no extra cost.
I’m not sure if Microsoft would be willing to make Overwatch 2 ’s premium battle pass free to Game Pass members. It charges Halo Infinite players for that game’s battle pass, after all.
But even offering things like exclusive cosmetics, some in-game currency and XP boosts might make Game Pass enticing for Overwatch 2 players, not to mention all the other Xbox and third-party games they’ll have access to through the library.
There’s no guarantee that Microsoft will actually purchase Activision Blizzard, especially after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority cast some doubt on the deal. Still, that doesn’t preclude Microsoft from striking a separate agreement to get Overwatch 2 on Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming in the meantime. I would have no problem with that.

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Overwatch.exe already exists. Do you want to replace it?
In a Reddit AMA (opens in new tab) on June 22, members of the Overwatch 2 developer team provided some new details and added context for the upcoming game, including a confirmation that the original Overwatch will be fully replaced by Overwatch 2 when it launches on October 4.
As part of a response to a question about the game's "Early Access" title, director Aaron Keller stated that "When OW2 launches on October 4th it will be a replacement for the current live service."
It was previously difficult to parse what the final form of this not-quite sequel will look like, and this move does little to assuage criticism that Overwatch 2 is more of a glorified update than a wholly original sequel. A tweet from the official Overwatch account (opens in new tab) shortly after OW2's reveal claimed that "Overwatch 1 players and Overwatch 2 players will play alongside on the same maps." That framing seemed to imply that th
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