Overwatch 2 Ready Check: Prepare for Launch

OW1 Servers Down

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.

Overwatch 2 is anticipated to be live worldwide at approximately 12:00 p.m. PDT on October 4.

For existing PC users and Watchpoint Pack owners on PC, Overwatch 2 can be pre-downloaded starting at approximately 1:30 p.m. PDT on September 30 and is a ~50 GB download. For existing console users, this can be done starting at approximately 9:00 a.m. PDT on October 4 and is a ~30 GB download.

All players must attach an eligible cell phone number to their Battle.net Account to play Overwatch 2.

Starting October 4, 2022, all players across all platforms...are required to have a phone number attached to their battle.net account to launch Overwatch 2. The same phone number cannot be used on multiple accounts at the same time, and players can’t use the same phone number to create multiple accounts. A phone number can only be used once when making a new account, and certain types of numbers, including pre-paid and VOIP, cannot be used for SMS Protect.

Audio transcriptions allow us to collect a temporary voice chat recording of a reported player and automatically transcribe it through speech to text programs. The text file is then analyzed for disruptive behavior by our chat review tools. Once the audio recording has been transcribed to text, it’s quickly deleted as the file’s sole purpose is to identify potentially disruptive behavior. The text file is then deleted no later than 30 days after the audio transcription.

New players begin with access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and some other restrictions to onboard them more gradually. The first phase of our new FTUE rapidly unlocks all the game modes and the ability to chat in-game, and the second phase unlocks all the original Overwatch heroes over the course of approximately 100 matches.
...New players are now challenged to win 50 Quick Play matches before Competitive unlocks.

There will only be a single Endorsement category per match, rather than splitting into three different categories, and you will only be able to endorse players on your team.

...Portrait Borders that symbolize player level are going away from all game modes in Overwatch 2, and Competitive skill tiers will no longer be displayed before each Competitive match.

All items in the Hero Gallery across platforms will be present in the merged battle.net account. This includes all sprays, emotes, skins, and everything else in the current Hero Gallery tab in-game. Duplicate cosmetics across platforms will be merged into a single battle.net account.
Competitive and skill rating will be separated by PC and console input pools.
Gameplay statistics are separated by input pool.