Overwatch 2 will require unlocking heroes through play for new players

Overwatch 2 players who are brand-new to the franchise — meaning those who never played the original Overwatch — will need to spend considerable time with the sequel to unlock the game’s existing roster of 32 heroes. Blizzard Entertainment announced Tuesday that the sequel will be available as part of its “The Next Generation” series. Overwatch 2’s “first-time user experience,” new players will unlock the game’s modes and all original Overwatch heroes “over the course of approximately 100 matches.”

Blizzard cited “consistent feedback from new players feeling overwhelmed by numerous game modes and heroes” in a blog post explaining how the game maker plans to accommodate an influx of newcomers with Overwatch’s free-to-play transition.

Overwatch 2’s first-time user experience will quickly unlock all game modes and in-game chat, Blizzard said, but new players will need to win 50 matches in Quick Play mode to access Competitive games and complete about 100 matches to unlock almost all of the game’s characters.

Blizzard said most of those new-player restrictions are lifted when playing in a group “so new players can team up with their friends at any time to play almost any game modes,” with Competitive mode being the exception. Moving from the original OverwatchTo Overwatch 2 will have access to 34 out of the game’s 35 heroes at launch. The access to Kiriko (new support hero) is also restricted. Overwatch 2’s battle pass.)

Existing OverwatchPlayers can expect changes to the game. 2As such, things like player portrait borders and competitive skill tiers won’t be displayed in the game. Overwatch’s Endorsements are also being streamlined, from three options down to one.

Overwatch 2Players of all stripes face an additional requirement starting Oct. 4. Overwatch 2’s launch day, players will need to have a phone number attached to their Battle.net account to play. This feature, known as SMS Protect is an extra layer of security that aims to prevent cheating and other poor player behavior. Blizzard says that the phone number attached to a Battle.net account “cannot be used on multiple accounts at the same time, and players can’t use the same phone number to create multiple accounts,” and that “certain types of numbers, including pre-paid and VOIP, cannot be used for SMS Protect.”

Activision Blizzard intends to use the same SMS Protect program. Modern Warfare 2 – Call of DutyIt also launched in October.