The Overwatch 2 release date is within touching distance, and Blizzard has announced when players will be able to preload the hero shooter in preparation. Be warned if you’re a console player, however, as it’s a bit of a tight turnaround.
Despite there being an extensive down period of more than 24 hours as Overwatch magically transforms into Overwatch 2, players will only have a window of roughly three hours to perform an Overwatch 2 preload on Xbox or PlayStation consoles.
According to Blizzard’s president Mike Ybarra, console players can preload Overwatch 2 at around 9am PT/ 12pm ET/ 5pm BST on October 4 – the same day the sequel launches. According to this blog post, the start time is scheduled for just a few hours later at around 12pm PT.
Despite the short window for console players, PC players will have a much more leisurely time sorting out their Overwatch 2 preload. According to Ybarra, those that play on PC can preload on September 30, a whole five days before launch. Plus, if you have automatic updates switched on on your Battlenet account, all the legwork will be done for you.
By revamping gameplay, adding new content, and going free-to-play, Overwatch 2 looks to revitalise this tactical FPS game and bring it to the masses. There’s already a slate of content planned for its first season, including new hero Kiriko, and you can see it all in the Overwatch 2 Season 1 roadmap.
Also be sure to bookmark our Overwatch 2 tier list to see which heroes are dominating the meta in the opening days and weeks of the new game.