As Blizzard evolves as a studio, inside and out, one of the ideas pushing us forward is meeting players around the world where they are and making our games as easy as possible to access and play. We want to give everyone a chance to experience our universes with old friends while making new ones, no matter how they choose to play.
Battle.net is the home of all our PC players, and over the years, we’ve evolved our platform to support updated technologies, capabilities, and our communities’ expectations. But as we’ve evolved, the industry has evolved too–gaming is no longer just for specific communities as it was when Battle.net launched over two decades ago, gaming is for everyone–and though we remain committed to continually investing in and supporting Battle.net, we want to break down the barriers to make it easier for players everywhere to find and enjoy our games.
Which is why we’re trying something new.
We’re excited to announce that we are bringing a selection of our games to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2… which will be available on the platform on August 10!
“It’s our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and try to exceed their expectations in everything we do,” said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “While Battle.net remains a priority for us now and into the future, we’ve heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games, starting with Overwatch 2 on August 10th. We’re happy to work with Valve to make that happen.”
"Gamers and developers are both going to benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam," said Gabe Newell, Valve's president. "Gamers will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the effects of having the talented team at Blizzard helping us evolve our supported features and functionality for Overwatch 2."
As a free-to-play, team-based game, we believe Overwatch 2 is the perfect title for Blizzard’s debut on the platform. Overwatch 2: Invasion is launching with more new types of gameplay experiences than at any point in the game’s storied 7-year history, including the first-ever set of PvE Story Missions, a new core PvP game mode with two new maps, and of course, a new hero. It’s a great opportunity for new players to enjoy their first experience of the Overwatch universe.
Overwatch 2’s presence on Steam is in addition to Battle.net, so the incredible community already accessing the game through Battle.net can play as they have with no changes required. Players on Steam will still need to connect Overwatch 2 to a Battle.net account, as we require for all platforms, which enables cross-platform play and more. Players using Steam will have access to features of the platform while playing Overwatch 2, such as Steam achievements, their Steam friends list, and the ability to invite them to play in-game. We’re excited to see the response from the Overwatch community–both veteran players and new ones who come on board through Steam–and we’re looking forward to hearing their feedback.
As far as what’s next for Blizzard on Steam, we’ll be sharing more about potential other games coming to the platform when the time is right.
The Overwatch 2 Steam page is live now, and is available to wishlist!