‘Overwatch’ Getting Free Week of Play During Thanksgiving

11/15/2018 03:30 pm EST

There's no question that Blizzard's Overwatch has become a highly valuable asset to the publisher, but one of its key strategies has been offering up "free weekends," in which all players can download the game and enjoy what it has to offer, enticing them to continue onward with the full version. Well, Blizzard's doing it again -- and for an even longer period.

The company has announced on its official blog page that it will be offering a week of Overwatch action on the house, all through Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend. The trial period will run from Tuesday, November 20, at 11 AM PDT through Monday, November 26, at 11:59 PM PDT.

With this trial, players will get access to all of the game's maps and modes, as well as its full roster of 29 Heroes, including the newly introduced Ashe -- who just made her debut this week! On top of that, any progress made within the game during the free week will be carried over into the full game if it's purchased, so you won't miss a beat.

There is a slight catch, however. If you're playing on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you'll need PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, respectively. And if you prefer to play on PC, you'll need to register for a Blizzard account. However, it's free to do so; and once you're set to go, you can download the game through the Battle.net client.

Pre-loading for Overwatch's one-week period has already opened up on consoles. Just look for the Overwatch Free Trial in the PlayStation Store, or look up product info for Overwatch in the Xbox Live Marketplace. You'll find it and can add it to your system queue from there.

Blizzard also has another promotion in which players can link their Twitch accounts and watch two hours of Overwatch streams during the trial, in which they'll earn three exclusive Ashe-themed sprays for their trouble. That is, if you're not already busy playing the game yourself, mind you…

You can see a sneak preview of the sprays below.

There's no word yet if the full Overwatch game will be on sale during this week of free play. However, considering that Black Friday is almost upon us, it wouldn't be a surprise if Blizzard slashed the price, so fans could continue taking part in the multiplayer shenanigans.

Hop in and join the fun! Overwatch is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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