Overwatch 2 beta coming in April as Blizzard splits PvE, PvP content

Overwatch 2Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the game is now available for play in an alpha closed test. Playable Beta Test for Overwatch 2, aimed at a larger group of players, will launch on PC in “late April.”

Blizzard says it’s changing its release plan for Overwatch 2, “decoupling” the game’s PvP and PvE elements in an attempt to get the sequel’s competitive multiplayer content into players’ hands sooner while it continues to work on single-player and cooperative content.

Aaron Keller, Overwatch director of game, has announced the new strategy. Overwatch 2In an update on Thursday. He revealed that the new alpha test will be playable by “Blizzard employees, Overwatch League pros, and a few other select groups,” while the forthcoming beta will launch in all regions for a bigger, but still closed, audience.

“This closed beta will include a larger group of testers who we will ask to provide gameplay feedback,” Keller said. “Our goal for this phase is to test our new features, content, and systems before we shift to stress-testing the servers with a wider player base in future Beta tests.”

Players can sign up to take part in the beta on the game’s website.

Keller described Overwatch 2’s first PvP beta as “the most significant release we’ve had since our launch.” It will include Overwatch’s first new hero in nearly two years, the damage hero Sojourn. Blizzard has also promised new hero reworks. Some of these have already been shown over the past 12 months as Overwatch competes in 5v5 multiplayer.

Beta will include Push, a new game mode that was introduced at BlizzCon 2019, as well as four new multiplayer maps, New York City (Rome), Toronto (Toronto) and Monte Carlo. Here’s an updated look at those maps and some of Overwatch 2’s character redesigns.

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In November, Blizzard Entertainment announced it was “planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 And DiabloIV than originally envisaged,” hinting that the two titles, both announced in 2019, could slip to 2023. However, now Overwatch 2 is entering beta, it’s possible Overwatch fans could get their sequel — at least the multiplayer PvP component of it — this year instead. Blizzard did not give any release dates, just as usual. Overwatch 2.

Where? Overwatch 2When it was first announced, Blizzard emphasized the inclusion of PvE content in Hero and Story Missions. This will be the sequel. The developer said it was “building the cooperative, narrative-driven game experience that players have been asking for since the original—and that we’ve wanted to make for a long time.” Those missions would also give players a new type of progression and character customization, giving Overwatch’s heroes and villains new, supercharged abilities in co-op play. It’s not currently clear how Blizzard plans to roll out the PvP and PvE elements of Overwatch 2 separately.

Since then, Overwatch 2’s announcement, updates to the original Overwatchhave been limited. Blizzard added only Echo to its roster, along with two deathmatch maps (Kanezaka and Malevento) in the meantime. Overwatch players have sustained themselves instead on Blizzard’s rollout of in-game challenges, seasonal events, and Experimental Mode patches that have led to smaller hero reworks.

Publisher Activision Blizzard said in November it was giving the Overwatch team “extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch,” acknowledging turmoil and turnover at Blizzard as contributing to the game’s longer-than-expected development.

Activision Blizzard faces numerous lawsuits and federal investigations. Bobby Kotick is being called to resign as its CEO over allegations of harassment and sexual assault against the publisher, its studios, and Blizzard. Those allegations and Activision Blizzard’s handling of the accusations have led multiple corporate sponsors to distance themselves from Activision Blizzard and its Overwatch esports league in recent months.