Overwatch 2 Release Date And News

Overwatch 2 Release Date
Overwatch 2 Beta Signup
The Current State of Overwatch 2

One of the most hotly anticipated games for the last 3 years, the “Zero:Hour” short (in the vein of several other character-specific shorts released in the past) was effectively the trailer for Overwatch 2.

Oof. Sends chills down my spine every single time I watch it, and I watch it a lot of times.

The second game in the franchise, Overwatch 2 promised a lot of changes in the systems, gameplay, character design, kit design, maps, cosmetics and much more.

Fans were also promised that there would be a PvE mode that would borrow artistic notes off the shorts released till date.

When Does Overwatch 2 Come Out?

By 2021, the original game hitting 5 straight years of competitive attention, being a household name and one of the most played video games in the world, Overwatch had begun to get a little bit stale.

Overwatch 2 made perfect sense.

A fresh take on the shooter, revamped mechanics, additional gameplay modes, more heroes, maps and cosmetics on the same formula of team-based rioting? It was the perfect sequel on paper.

The Overwatch 2 release date on early access was October 4, 2022 to…..pretty strong reviews!

The original fan base made no effort to hide their candid opinions in the Overwatch 2 beta sign up however; they were divided at best, and at worst, not looking good for the future.

The Overwatch 2 Beta release was the first test of the game, and it was a trial by fire.

The game had a new coat of paint, the mechanics had a slight tweak, and little things such as players’ aim needed to be trained again due to these small changes in design and the environment.

To sign up for the beta, you could go to battle.net and either create an account or just sign in to download the game.

But then came the bane of every online multiplayer game’s existence, server issues.

With a massive DDOS attack on the servers as well as the hordes of fans coming back to the series, this was a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’. The long queue times were an asinine addition to an already wounded release schedule.

Despite that, Overwatch 2 trucked on, getting most of its massive player base back and retaining it throughout the season.

Season 1 was filled with as many pitfalls as it had its high moments. For a lot of fans, the addition of the PvE mode being pushed was a big deal, but we did see the Hallowemanyen PvE event which breathed a little life into the season.

But despite that, issues persisted. The lack of balancing for multiple heroes led to one of the most insane and inane metas of all time in the history of Overwatch.

Some of the new characters were massively overpowered while series greats like Cassidy were shot down to the ground with crippling changes to their kit.

Is Overwatch 2 Worth Playing Now?

As it stands, we have just seen the release of Season 2 of Overwatch 2, and a huge balancing patch, the reception to which has been mixed.

Despite the ample amount of talent at Blizzard’s disposal, off-field issues have been affecting community management as well as game management.

Where does Overwatch 2 go from here? Well, from weakness to strength, we would hope. This legendary franchise has given us a lot of cherishable moments over the time that it has been active, and fans would be devastated to watch it disappear into the hell of unmanageable online environments.

Regardless, the fact remains that Overwatch 2 is just beginning. Despite the issues with Activision-Blizzard, it would be great if sustained updates and additions keep the online and esports fervor for the game alive for a long time.

For more news and other content surrounding Overwatch 2, check out our beginners’ guide on Overwatch 2 or our dissection of Widowmaker, one of the stronger damage characters in the game.