Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 release time comes the day after the
shutdown of Overwatch 1.
It’s rare you see one game end and its sequel begin in just over
24 hours – but Blizzard’s approach is designed to see its entire
community transition from one game to another.
For Overwatch fans, it’s a bittersweet week – so here’s the
Overwatch 1 shutdown time so you can fit in one final match,
before playing the Overwatch 2 release shortly after.
Overwatch 2 release time: When does Overwatch 2 release?
Overwatch 2 is now available to play on PC and consoles
While you wait, new players should create a Battle.net account if you haven’t already, and set up two factor authentication. This is a requirement across all platforms – including on consoles.
If you are new, know that you have to play 100 matches to unlock the entire roster. For returning players, the entire roster will be available to you right away. There is a new Battle Pass system to learn.
If you are already an Overwatch player, then you can begin to merge your progression from the original game into the sequel, even if you are switching platforms. Here’s the official blog post for how it works.
You can also start pre-loading ahead of time so you can start playing as soon as servers go live…
How to access competitive mode
Any player who has already unlocked competitive mode in Overwatch will have immediate access to competitive in Overwatch 2.
For new players who create an account on or after Oct. 4, they will have to play through a guided First-Time User Experience (FTUE) and then win 50 Quick Play matches before unlocking competitive. This is to give “new players time to prepare for the higher expectations that come with competitive.”
Goodbye Skill Rating, hello Skill Tier Divisions
The original Skill Rating system, which assigns a player a numerical number value that fits into one of several rank categories, is gone (to a degree). The same rank tiers exist, Bronze through Grand Masters, but each rank has five divisions, with five being the lowest and one being the highest. Each division has approximately a 100 SR range. The top 500 players will not have any rank divisions.
Players will receive changes to their skill division every seven wins or 20 losses, instead of after every single game. This is to give the ranking system a better overall understanding of your competitive performance while taking pressure off each individual match.
Placement matches
Instead of playing five placement matches without a rank, you’ll be unranked until your first competitive update after your first seven wins or 20 losses. Players who were ranked before Overwatch 2 will have their rank modified post-launch; most players will find their adjusted rank to be slightly lower when they first start playing.
DO YOU HAVE TO BUY THE WATCHPOINT PACK TO PLAY OVERWATCH 2?
No. Overwatch 2 is free-to-play, and can be downloaded without having to pay a cent. Existing Overwatch owners will get Overwatch 2 as a free update on Oct. 4.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE OVERWATCH 2 WATCHPOINT PACK?
The Watchpoint Pack includes the season 1 premium battle pass, 7 Legendary skins (including two all-new Space Raider skins), 5 Epic skins, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and an Overwatch 2 player icon.
Specifically, those Space Raider skins are for Cassidy and Soldier: 76, as shown at the top of this post. Also included in the pack are skins for Junkrat (Fool), Mercy (Valkyrie), Cassidy (Mystery Man), Hanzo (Okami), D.Va (Officer), Reaper (Blackwatch Reyes), Bastion (Overgrown), Pharah (Security Chief), and Tracer (Slipstream). Longtime Overwatch players, especially those who purchased the Origins Edition of the original game, may very well have all of those skins already.
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