From release date to platform — here’s to know about Overwatch 2
Blizzard Entertainment’s highly anticipated hero shooter title, Overwatch 2, will finally be released early in October. For most time zones, the team-based hero shooter game will be released on October 4, while others on the following day.
Overwatch 2’s base game is set to be a free game. As a direct sequel to the 2016 release, players who played the first Overwatch will retain all their previously acquired heroes in the new game. However, three other new characters — Sojourn, Junker Queen and Kiriko — are only made accessible via the Founder’s Pack.
Below are the details of Overwatch 2, from the game’s release date based on time zones to which platforms it will be released, along with other important features to note.
Release date, platform
As cited above, Overwatch 2 will be released on October 4-5, depending on time zones. The game will be released in Seoul and Sydney on October 5 at 4 a.m. KST and 6 a.m. AEDT respectively.
Meanwhile, other time zones mentioned on the developer’s official release are London (8 p.m. BST), New York (3 p.m. EDT), Los Angeles (12 p.m. PDT), Paris (9 p.m. CEST), and Santos (4 p.m. BRT), will instead be released on October 4.
It is likely that Russia and other countries in Asia will follow Seoul and Sydney’s release date, while other countries in Europe and the Americas will be released on October 4.
Players can play Overwatch 2 as a free game on October 4. Veteran Overwatch players and those who bought the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack may pre-download the game before its release.
In terms of platform, Overwatch 2 is made available for both current and next-gen consoles, such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and Xbox One. Aside from these, the game will also be playable on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Cross-play, cross-progression to be implemented
Similar to the first Overwatch, the sequel will feature a fully-integrated cross-play. In other words, players can play together in the same competitive space regardless of their devices. Along with cross-progression, these features remained on Blizzard’s radar years after the release of the first Overwatch.
Former game director Jeff Kaplan, who parted ways from Blizzard and Overwatch in April 2021, has said that both features are central in the series.
“We would love to have cross-play and cross-progression between the Nintendo Switch and other platforms,” Kaplan said in 2019. “If we can overcome the hurdles, we would love to bring features like that to our players someday.”
Cross-play and cross-progression are two of the most crucial features in online games. However, the latter was missing in the first Overwatch.
Via a release earlier this June, Blizzard confirmed that cross-progression had been implemented in Overwatch 2, meaning that players can now use their primary save data and port it to their platform of choice without needing to play from the beginning again.
“Featuring a new five-versus-five multiplayer format with cross-platform play and cross-platform progression, PvP experience is designed to offer incredible and fresh competitive gameplay with a new, free-to-play model and major game updates such as new heroes, hero reworks, maps, modes, and premium cosmetics,” Blizzard said.
