Overwatch Dev Tracker

Competitive play has been at the heart of the Overwatch community for years, and we have long-term plans to nurture this game mode far into the future. We're excited to share how we’re updating Competitive in Overwatch 2, starting with the goals that guided our decisions.

First, seasons should be exciting and tell their own, individual stories. Each one should take players on a new journey with new heroes, maps, game modes, or balance changes.

Second, we believe losing games shouldn’t be a purely negative experience. Competitive players should feel a sense of progression after games, and we want to provide players with the tools needed to improve and rank-up. 

Finally, we need an improved Competitive experience for returning players—for the benefit of both them and their teammates. 

Let’s dive deeper into what we’re doing to make Overwatch 2 Competitive feel fun and fair to play.

Unlocking Competitive 

Overwatch...

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.

Update, October 5: We designed Overwatch 2 to be a live service, which enables us to be responsive to a variety of player feedback. We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players. Any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021, will not have to provide a phone number to play. We are working to make this change and expect it to go live on Friday, October 7. We will update players once it is in effect.

We remain committed to combating disruptive behavior in Overwatch 2—accounts that were not connected to Battle.net as well as new accounts will still have to meet SMS Protect requirements, which helps to ensure we’re protecting our community against cheating. If a player is caught engaging in disruptive behavior, their account may be banned whether they have a new account or not.

As a team, we will keep listening t...