Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Overwatch 2 is coming this year and it’ll be free-to-play

Add as a preferred source on Google
Summer Gaming Marathon Feature Image
This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

After years of hearing nothing until recently on the Overwatch 2 front, we finally get a new hero announcement, confirmation on a free-to-play launch, and a release date for October 4.

This news comes straight from Activision Blizzard’s new home, Xbox’s Games Showcase where the new hero Junker Queen made her appearance.

Release Date Reveal | Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is the long-awaited follow-up to the original Overwatch, a game that helped put hero-shooters on the map. The game was delayed and has gone radio silent many times due to the controversies surrounding Activision Blizzard. Now with Xbox set to own the company, it’s finally sharing more details including the new character.

Recommended Videos

Junker Queen is a new tank class character that utilizes a shotgun as her main weapon and a two-handed ax as her melee tool. The trailer hints at her abilities being a dash attack and throwing ax that she can recall back to her hand. She also has a design that is very obviously inspired by the Mad Max series.

We weren’t shown only a new hero but also got confirmation that Overwatch 2 will be a free-to-play title. However, the entire package won’t be going without charge. The trailer shown during the showcase shared that only the player-vs-player modes of the game are included on the free-to-play side. This most likely means that other separate modes, including a story mode, will come at an additional charge.

Overwatch 2‘s free-to-play PvP mode is finally set to launch for early access on October 4, 2022. It’s still unconfirmed when the rest of the package will release.

DeAngelo Epps
Former Digital Trends Contributor
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
Xbox and Nvidia want Gears of War: E-Day to show off what RTX PCs can really do
Here's everything NVIDIA's new exclusive partnership adds to Gears of War: E-Day's PC version, plus when you can actually start playing it.
Mountain, Nature, Outdoors

Gears of War fans building a new PC rig just got a very good reason to make sure there’s a GeForce card inside.

The Coalition and Xbox have named Nvidia the exclusive PC partner for Gears of War: E-Day, working alongside the studio since early development on performance tuning and launch support. 

Read more
I found three Back-to-School gaming accessory deals I’d actually spend my money on
Skip the outdated gaming gear and focus on these three discounted accessories that are genuinely worth adding to a dorm room or study setup.
Logitech PRO X SUPERLIGHT 2 SE featured

Back-to-School sales are everywhere right now, but gaming accessories are one category where it's surprisingly easy to end up with outdated gear that only looks like a bargain. A real deal isn't just about a lower price, but it also needs to be a product that's still genuinely worth buying. After digging through this year's discounts, I kept coming back to the same three products. Whether it's a lightweight esports mouse, a comfortable wireless headset, or a controller that turns a phone into a handheld console, these are the accessories I'd actually recommend picking up while they're on sale.

Logitech G PRO X Superlight 2 SE

Read more
Xbox may be about to test a surprisingly clever way to digitize game discs
A delayed Insider update has fueled speculation that Microsoft could soon reveal Positron, a system that reportedly turns physical games into transferable digital licenses
Xbox logo

Microsoft may be preparing to bring Positron to Xbox Insiders as early as next week. The company hasn’t announced the feature or confirmed when players might see it, but a delayed Insider build has given the rumor somewhere to land.

Xbox Insider lead Brad Rossetti teased that the postponed update would be worth the wait. Windows Central executive editor Jez Corden then suggested Positron may be involved. Corden had previously reported the codename after references to the project appeared in Xbox software.

Read more