Overwatch 2 Announces Rewards For Massive Launch Week

Overwatch 2 had an incredibly successful launch week, gathering tens of millions of players in the process. Overwatch 2 has been one of the most anticipated games on the horizon for quite a while. Although it's not as drastic of a leap as some other video game sequels, it still provided some changes that fans have been hoping for, including making the game free-to-play. The sequel will also continue to expand over time with a PvE mode expected to arrive sometime in 2023. A lot of players were ready to see what Blizzard was cooking up for the sequel and hopped in, only to be met with a pretty chaotic launch week. Overwatch 2 immediately suffered a DDoS attack and had server issues for a good portion of the launch week. It also had controversial changes such as a phone number being required to login, bugs, and more that spoiled some fans' excitement.

However, Blizzard was still able to achieve some massive numbers despite the problems. Courtesy of Overwatch 2 being free to play and just the general hype, it has been confirmed that the game roped in a whopping 25 million players during launch week. It's a pretty astonishing feat given all of the negative press around the game, but the people who were able to get in had positive things to say about the actual game itself. As a thank you, anyone who logs in to the game from October 25th to the end of season one will get a new Reaper skin and weapons charm. Additionally, there will be double XP weekends during the following dates

• Starting October 21 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting October 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 31 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting November 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending November 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT 

"The launch of Overwatch 2 has been such an important moment for Blizzard. We're thrilled to bring new players from around the world into Overwatch's vibrant universe while welcoming back the existing Blizzard community," said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "This is only the beginning—there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wait for players to experience everything the team is building for the live game."

Overwatch 2 seems to have ironed out some of its biggest issues, thankfully. The game is now full steam ahead and will hopefully be able to deliver on the sequel fans really want. With season one starting soon, fans will be able to see just how effective this new free-to-play structure is for Overwatch.

What do you think of Overwatch 2? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.