It feels that it has been years since fans have been awaiting the release of Overwatch 2, and Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed they are changing their tacts to get the game out a bit sooner – albeit in a different way. The game’s release strategy will see them decouple the Overwatch 2 PvP and PvE experiences from one another – the goal being to get new PvP content into the hands of fans sooner, while work continues on the PvE experience.
You can hear more about this from Game Director, Aaron Keller, in the video below:
The mentioning of this decoupling is relevant, as Blizzard Entertainment has rolled out closed alpha testing for PvP content among a select userbase in select regions. These include Blizzard employees, Overwatch League pros, and “a few other select groups”.
The first public PvP Beta tests will commence in late-April 2022 on the PC in all supported regions. While still designated a ‘closed beta’, the public beta will feature a “larger group of testers who we will ask to provide gameplay feedback”. The goal of this phase is to have a wider userbase test out “new features, content, and systems”, prior to server stress-testing in future builds.
Some of the content participants players can look forward to in the Overwatch 2 Closed Public Beta include:
- New Damage Hero: Sojourn
- New Game Mode: Push
- 5v5 Multiplayer
- Hero Reworks
- 4 New Maps
Interested parties are encouraged to express their interest via the official PlayOverwatch website.
