Overwatch 2 Coming to Steam on August 10, Blizzard Hints About Adding More IPs in the Future

[T0@st]

As Blizzard evolves as a studio, inside and out, one of the ideas pushing us forward is meeting players around the world where they are and making our games as easy as possible to access and play. We want to give everyone a chance to experience our universes with old friends while making new ones, no matter how they choose to play.

Battle.net is the home of all our PC players, and over the years, we've evolved our platform to support updated technologies, capabilities, and our communities' expectations. But as we've evolved, the industry has evolved too-gaming is no longer just for specific communities as it was when Battle.net launched over two decades ago, gaming is for everyone-and though we remain committed to continually investing in and supporting Battle.net, we want to break down the barriers to make it easier for players everywhere to find and enjoy our games. Which is why we're trying something new...




We're excited to announce that we are bringing a selection of our games to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2… which will be available on the platform on August 10!

"It's our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and try to exceed their expectations in everything we do," said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. "While Battle.net remains a priority for us now and into the future, we've heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games, starting with Overwatch 2 on August 10th. We're happy to work with Valve to make that happen."

"Gamers and developers are both going to benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam," said Gabe Newell, Valve's president. "Gamers will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the effects of having the talented team at Blizzard helping us evolve our supported features and functionality for Overwatch 2."

As a free-to-play, team-based game, we believe Overwatch 2 is the perfect title for Blizzard's debut on the platform. Overwatch 2: Invasion is launching with more new types of gameplay experiences than at any point in the game's storied 7-year history, including the first-ever set of PvE Story Missions, a new core PvP game mode with two new maps, and of course, a new hero. It's a great opportunity for new players to enjoy their first experience of the Overwatch universe.

Overwatch 2's presence on Steam is in addition to Battle.net, so the incredible community already accessing the game through Battle.net can play as they have with no changes required. Players on Steam will still need to connect Overwatch 2 to a Battle.net account, as we require for all platforms, which enables cross-platform play and more. Players using Steam will have access to features of the platform while playing Overwatch 2, such as Steam achievements, their Steam friends list, and the ability to invite them to play in-game. We're excited to see the response from the Overwatch community-both veteran players and new ones who come on board through Steam-and we're looking forward to hearing their feedback.

As far as what's next for Blizzard on Steam, we'll be sharing more about potential other games coming to the platform when the time is right.

The Overwatch 2 Steam page is live now, and is available to wishlist! We invite the Overwatch community to give their new teammates playing from Steam a warm welcome on August 10! To stay up to date with everything Blizzard, be sure to follow us on Twitter.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

One bloated client app less. Good.

 

[Assimilator]

One bloated client app less. Good.

Nope, they're only going to be using Steam as a storefront. Just like Ubis**t, when you click the "Play" button in Steam all it will do is fire up their launcher.

(In case you don't know why I replaced "of" in "Ubisoft", it's because I actually used "hi", because swearing technically isn't allowed on these forums. Figure it out.)

 

[TheDeeGee]

Nope, they're only going to be using Steam as a storefront. Just like Ubis**t, when you click the "Play" button in Steam all it will do is fire up their launcher.

(In case you don't know why I replaced "of" in "Ubisoft", it's because I actually used "hi", because swearing technically isn't allowed on these forums. Figure it out.)

They're not.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1681720303389667328

You most likely need an account, but no app required.

 

[JAB Creations]

I heard people raving about how good the single player campaign was, how is it?

 

[Assimilator]

They're not.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1681720303389667328

You most likely need an account, but no app required.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[HOkay]

I heard people raving about how good the single player campaign was, how is it?

Are you thinking of Titanfall 2 maybe? Because that is pretty great.

 

[cvaldes]

Overwatch 2 player engagement is way down so Steam availability is probably a desperate attempt at improving discoverability.

For sure Steam has other benefits than being a popular digital game storefront. It has additional technologies (like Steam Input API support) that make it a better launcher and a strong modding community (though not applicable for this particular title). It also has a way better CDN infrastructure and a more sane game archiving system than other launchers (*cough* Epic Game Launcher *cough*).

Nope, they're only going to be using Steam as a storefront. Just like Ubis**t, when you click the "Play" button in Steam all it will do is fire up their launcher.

(In case you don't know why I replaced "of" in "Ubisoft", it's because I actually used "hi", because swearing technically isn't allowed on these forums. Figure it out.)

Just throw in a diacritic. Comment filters do a piss poor job at handling those. Then you don't have to explain it: just write Ubishït. Not technically swearing since it's not a real word.

This isn't a specific workaround strategy for TPU. You can do it pretty much anywhere including all social media sites. Nothing new there.

Amusingly, AI might do a better job filtering those out versus human-created content filters.

Not that it really matters. We understand the point being communicated whether it's an unfiltered real word, self-censored stand-in, or a sneaky diacritic-enabled trick, whatever.

 

[JAB Creations]

Are you thinking of Titanfall 2 maybe? Because that is pretty great.

I was being sarcastic about OW2 not having single player. I don't play any Respawn games though after Activision screwed them over I always wish them the best.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Overwatch 2 player engagement is way down so Steam availability is probably a desperate attempt at improving discoverability.

For sure Steam has other benefits than being a popular digital game storefront. It has additional technologies (like Steam Input API support) that make it a better launcher and a strong modding community (though not applicable for this particular title). It also has a way better CDN infrastructure and a more sane game archiving system than other launchers (*cough* Epic Game Launcher *cough*).

ActiZard is desperate to get more players, the overwatch community has been tanking recently. They royally screwed the pooch and turned the audience on themselves. The Steam Play numbers are gonna be hilarious, kina like halo infinite.

Just throw in a diacritic. Comment filters do a piss poor job at handling those. Then you don't have to explain it: just write Ubishït. Not technically swearing since it's not a real word.

This isn't a specific workaround strategy for TPU. You can do it pretty much anywhere including all social media sites. Nothing new there.

Amusingly, AI might do a better job filtering those out versus human-created content filters.

Not that it really matters. We understand the point being communicated whether it's an unfiltered real word, self-censored stand-in, or a sneaky diacritic-enabled trick, whatever.

I remember when forum members were smart enough to figure out what words like "ubis**t" meant. Now we have Reddit moments where we have to explain this stuff.....

They're not.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1681720303389667328

You most likely need an account, but no app required.

Yes, account is still required:

Overwatch 2 And Other Blizzard Games Are Coming To Steam

If you hate Battle.net and like playing games on Steam, rejoice

kotaku.com

 

[TechLurker]

I heard people raving about how good the single player campaign was, how is it?

Deader than dead. OW2 is just OW1 with minor tweaks to the PvP side of things and not ever worth even a 50% sale cost, and they completely abandoned the promised PvE side of things.

I hope this game crashes and burns on Steam, just like it's slowly been crashing in Blizzard's own marketfront.

 

[HOkay]

...and not ever worth even a 50% sale cost...

But it's free to play, is it worth free?

 

[WorringlyIndifferent]

But it's free to play, is it worth free?

That's too much. I need at least a 60% discount.

 

[Assimilator]

But it's free to play, is it worth free?

Nope.

 

[HOkay]

If there hadn't been OW1 then OW2 would be an amazing F2P game & be hugely successful. But making everyone buy OW1, then overwriting it with a F2P version they call OW2, is such a dumb, dick move, I just don't wanna go back to it to spite whichever idiots thought that was a good idea.
I loved OW1, had a few hundred hours in it. It was one of my favourite games ever to play online with friends.

 

[TechLurker]

But it's free to play, is it worth free?

I bought into Overwatch 1 and was carried over into Overwatch 2, so I forgot about the free cost (or paying for a thing in-game). Still not worth it.

 

[Icon Charlie]

My Reply to Blizzard and the market speak reasons they give??? IMHO... Utter BullSh!t.

I believe they are doing this is to push product to the other buy to reduce bandwidth and of course COST. They won't have to upkeep their legacy systems which they do have.

People forget that these @$$hats tried to pull a fast on in 2016 with their netcode speeds and all hell ensued. They were using 20hz Netcode speeds until they were caught. Great for Warcrack... Not so great for an E-sport.

Note: I was lucky enough to be a Beta Tester when it first launched. I loved that game and as a casual gamer I spent money on it, which I do not regret spending, as over the years the old man made some friends with some young punks.

Note II: I knew OV1 was in serious trouble when Chris Metznen suddenly left two weeks after launch and "papa" Jeff took over...

And we all know what happened afterwards. Some of the laziest programming that I have ever seen coming from a AAA that had a good thing going.
And then the game just became a parody.

So yea, I know a weeeeee bit about that game and of course the industry as well.

 

[aciDev]

I'll believe it when I see it.

OW has always had the login function in the game itself.

 

[AhmadMZ99]

good, as long they didn't need other launcher i will uninstall battelnet launcher, i hate an every game requiring or installing the own launchers

 

[Totally]

I heard people raving about how good the single player campaign was, how is it?

That sarcasm or have you been only listening to the most blue-pilled blizzard diehards? Majority of those still playing O2 says single-player is a disappointment.

 

[Luke357]

That sarcasm or have you been only listening to the most blue-pilled blizzard diehards? Majority of those still playing O2 says single-player is a disappointment.

There is no single player campaign it's all multiplayer. They are going to add singleplayer at some point but currently it is a multiplayer only game.

 

[JAB Creations]

Just to set the record straight, I already knew they dumped a massive amount of work on single player. I was being sarcastic.