Overwatch 2 is almost here! There are a few things to know ahead of its official launch on October 4. We have a new SMS Protection requirement that’s important to understand in order to play, so please read thoroughly and take the steps listed to ready your account so you can jump in and play right away once the game is live!
Overwatch 2 is anticipated to be live worldwide at approximately 12:00 p.m. PDT on October 4.
As a reminder, everyone who logs in during Season One will receive heroes Junker Queen and Sojourn automatically, whether they’re new players or returning. Players who own the original Overwatch will also receive Kiriko through their Founder’s Pack, which can be claimed by logging in at any point before the end of Season Two. If you currently have the “Founders” portrait in-game, you’ve already claimed your Founder’s Pack.
It’s no small feat to launch a video game! To do so for Overwatch 2, we’ll be taking the current version of Overwatch down starting at approximately 9:00 a.m. PDT on October 3. This means October 2 is your last full day to play the original Overwatch! Thanks for playing, and for your support as we celebrate Overwatch entering a bright and exciting new era.
Also I still don't get the "new heroes will be OP and indirect P2W because people who got them early will stomp in ranked".Are new heroes even available in ranked? I recall OW functioned like league, where at least the first week has new heroes disabled for Ranked Play, to give people time to learn them and discourage first-timing. Everybody knows a newly released hero in a competitive setting is actually a disadvantage, they have a horrible winrate for the first few weeks as people learn to play as and with them. If anything - if it was possible, you'd NOT want somebody to pick them day one hour one in your ranked game. But I'm more than sure there will be ample time to earn and try the hero before it's viable and/or allowed to use them in ranked. I also wouldn't be surprised if ranked had restrictions on hero ownership, they won't let a new account with less than all heroes queue up just like that.
I still don't get it why they decided to make a "new" game instead of updating the existing one...This is how it works for majority of online games.
If you have to pay for the battle pass to realistically unlock heroes as a casual player or if they aren't automatically unlocked for free at the end of the season then the game is DOA.