In Overwatch 2, players will take on the roles of the world’s heroes in cooperative missions that challenge them to team up, power up, and stand together against an overwhelming outbreak of threats around the globe. Players will also battle each other in the next evolution of competitive Overwatch play, which carries forward existing players’ accomplishments and loot collections and features the current complete Overwatch roster, a new generation of heroes, new internationally recognizable maps that widen the scope of the world, a new Push map type, and more.
In the sequel’s action-packed cooperative Story Missions, players will experience the advent of a new Overwatch as Winston, Tracer, and other members of the original Overwatch join forces with a new generation of heroes. Players will take an active role in the Overwatch saga as a new global crisis unfolds through a series of intense, high-stakes four-player missions. As the story progresses, players will team up as different sets of heroes and fight to defend the world from the omnic forces of Null Sector, uncover the motives behind the robotic armies’ attacks, and come face-to-face with rising new threats around the globe.
The battle continues in Hero Missions, where the Overwatch team will be called upon to go beyond their limits as they deploy across the planet, defending cities against robot invasions, taking on elite Talon agents, and battling the villainous forces laying siege to the world. In this highly replayable mode, players can level up their favorite heroes and earn powerful customization options that supercharge their abilities in co-op play—such as altering Reinhardt’s Fire Strike to ignite nearby enemies or modifying Tracer’s Pulse Bomb to cause a devastating chain reaction—granting the extra edge they need against the overwhelming odds.
Overwatch 2 is launching in early access with dynamic new PvP content releasing on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on October 4, kicking off the next chapter for Blizzard Entertainment’s team-based shooter.
Featuring a new five-versus-five multiplayer format with cross-platform play and cross-platform progression, Overwatch 2’s 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.
At launch, players will have an opportunity to get their hands on the newest tank hero to join the roster, the ruthless Australian-born ruler of Junkertown: the Junker Queen. More details on the Junker Queen, Overwatch 2’s live service model and seasonal content plan, and the upcoming phase of the game’s closed beta testing will be shared during the Overwatch 2 Reveal Event livestream on YouTube or Twitch this Thursday, June 16, at 10:00 a.m. PDT.
The Junker Queen is the second new hero revealed for Overwatch 2, and the franchise’s 34th hero overall, following Sojourn—a high-mobility and railgun-wielding former Overwatch captain with cybernetic capabilities. New and iconic international locations will also arrive in-game at launch, from the snowy New Queen Street in Toronto to the bustle of Midtown Manhattan. Overwatch 2 additionally introduces the new Push game mode, a symmetrical map type where teams battle to take control and advance a centrally-located robot deeper into enemy territory than the opposing team.
"We can't wait to roll out the beginning of the Overwatch 2 experience on October 4 and introduce an exciting new competitive vision, featuring amazing new content and a reimagining of the iconic heroes, maps, and gameplay that made the original game so compelling," said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. "This is the beginning of an always-on and always-evolving era for the franchise, and a recommitment to serving players with frequent and substantial updates planned well into the future to keep Overwatch 2 fresh and fun for many years to come."
To help realize these missions, the sequel also introduces significant engine upgrades that support larger maps for co-op (PvE) play, as well as the wide variety of new enemies and factions that players will encounter on their missions. The game also introduces visual enhancements designed to bring players’ favorite heroes—and their new looks for Overwatch 2—to life in greater detail.
Overwatch 2 also represents the beginning of a new era for the series’ world-renowned competitive 6v6 play. In addition to carrying forward all of the original game’s heroes, maps, and modes—as well as existing Overwatch players’ accomplishments and loot collections—the sequel adds multiple new playable heroes to the ever-growing roster; widens the scope of the world with even more maps and locations; and adds a new Push map type, in which two teams compete to make a robot (that happens to be pretty good at pushing things) push the map’s objective to their opponent’s side.
Overwatch 2 also renews Blizzard’s commitment to continue supporting the existing Overwatch community. Current Overwatch players will battle side-by-side with Overwatch 2 players in PvP multiplayer. In addition, current Overwatch players will be able to play Overwatch 2 heroes and maps, ensuring the core PvP experience remains dynamic and vital for today’s community in the Overwatch 2 era.
Overwatch 2 is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
More articles about Overwatch 2