Overwatch Servers Offline Ahead of Overwatch 2 Launch

Blizzard Entertainment has taken down Overwatch’s servers ahead of the sequel’s launch. They’ll be offline for maintenance until tomorrow, noon PST. For those who already own the first game on PC, the sequel is available for pre-load on Battle.net.

New players who make an account on or after launch day will go through the First Time User Experience. It locks several heroes and modes off until approximately 100 matches have been played. All players will also have to merge accounts across different platforms and enable SMS Protect to play the game.

Overwatch 2 will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch tomorrow. It’s a free-to-play, early access title that adds six new maps, three new heroes and a new mode, Push, to the existing game (along with making various other changes).

Season 1 also starts tomorrow, and one of the new heroes, Kiriko, must be unlocked by reaching Tier 55 on the Battle Pass. Paying 1000 Overwatch Coins or $10 unlocks her instantly, though Overwatch 1 players immediately gain access via the Founder’s Pack. For more details on the Battle Pass, head here.