Overwatch 2 Beta Announced

By Tanner Dedmon

Overwatch 2 will soon be playable by the public via an open beta, Blizzard announced this week. The latest on the next Overwatch game was shared in a developer update the creators occasionally drop with plans for a beta to start in April. It'll only consist of PvP matches which means you'll have to wait a while longer to try out the game's story-based PvE elements, but you'll at least be able to try out a new hero, Sojourn, hero reworks we've seen teased already, and more maps and modes.

While the beta doesn't yet have an exact release date, it'll be held in "late April," according to Blizzard's announcement shared on Thursday. The matches will consist of five heroes on either team and will introduce the new Push mode for the first time. Sojourn will be playable along with the reworked versions of Orisa, Doomfist, Bastion, and Sombra. There will be an updated ping system live in the beta for players to utilize along with one new Escort Map, one new Hybrid Map, and two new Push Maps to go along with the new mode.

If you've been missing out on the video updates from the Overwatch and Overwatch 2 teams, you're in luck: We got a new one of those alongside the announcement of the beta. Game director Aaron Keller said the team's shifting their plans for Overwatch 2 by "decoupling the PvP features of the game from the PvE systems" so that PvP can be in the hands of players sooner.

To that end, the PvP testing is actually going to begin testing as soon as this week, but it won't have a big signup process like the Overwatch 2 beta will. PvP will first be tested in a closed alpha environment that'll consist of the new features mentioned previously before the PvP beta kicks off in late April. The alpha is limited to Blizzard employees as well as people such as Overwatch esports competitors, so signing up for the beta is your best bet at getting to play the game early.

Later in the year, Keller said there will be more tests with additional maps, heroes, and other features added for players to test. Details on those future betas have not yet been discussed further, but we'll probably hear more about them based on how the first beta goes next month.

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