Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Overwatch 2 is taking pages from the Valorant playbook

Overwatch 2 should have been a surefire hit. The original Overwatch took the world by storm when it was released in 2016 and introduced a fresh take on the hero shooter subgenre established by Team Fortress 2. It had a healthy community, and its sequel would maintain that by not overriding its multiplayer base. In 2022, though, Overwatch 2 is both sorely needed and a controversial title.

In the years since its announcement, Activision Blizzard has lost multiple major developers related to the franchise and reportedly fostered a problematic work environment. Overwatch 2 has been delayed numerous times, and the original Overwatch hasn’t received a super-substantial update in almost two years as a result. Fans have since jumped to games like Valorant and Apex Legends.

Recommended Videos

As the Overwatch community feels frustrated and abandoned and workers organize at Activision Blizzard, Overwatch 2 has lost some of its shine. That’s why it makes sense that Blizzard is taking a clever marketing cue from one of its biggest competitors to stay relevant and keep discourse about the game in a place it’s happy with. 

Sojourn Gameplay Trailer | Overwatch 2

Where we dropping?

Overwatch 2‘s first PvP beta begins today, finally giving fans a taste of what they’ve been waiting for through many ups and downs. Players can sign up for a chance to get access to the beta on the Overwatch website, but that’s not really the way Blizzard wants to attract people to the game. Instead, it wants players to watch several streamers play the game during a specific timef rame on April 27 to get a beta code via Twitch Drop.

Rolling out the beta in this way will drive engagement and discussion about Overwatch 2, which the game sorely needs. It’s all pretty clever, but there’s a catch: This has been done before.

Back in 2020, Riot Games had the challenge of introducing Valorant, a brand new IP that was quite similar to Overwatch. Previous Overwatch challenges like Battleborn and Lawbreakers had failed gloriously, and they weren’t launching in the middle of a pandemic. It was a tough sell, but Riot Games managed to make its shooter the hottest title of spring 2020.

Leveraging some intrigue in the title and its League of Legends clout, Riot Games gave streamers access to the closed beta and made Twitch Drops the primary way to get beta access. This fear of missing out helped encourage many players to try the game once they finally got access and broke a single-day viewership record on the Amazon platform.

Closed Beta begins in EU/NA - VALORANT

And because Valorant is a well-designed and entertaining multiplayer hero shooter, players stuck around, and its popularity skyrocketed. Valorant is still very relevant today and has kind of taken Overwatch’s place during Blizzard’s dearth of updates for Overwatch and news about Overwatch 2. Blizzard is fighting from behind to recapture some of the same magic with Overwatch 2, if only for a day. 

Defy the limits (of PR)

This Twitch Drop approach is a smart decision for Blizzard. Overwatch 2 has some stiff competition these days and needs to court hardcore fans back to the franchise after scorning them with a lack of updates. A limited-time stunt like these Twitch Drops will likely inflate viewership numbers and bring Valorant and Apex Legends players’ attention back to Overwatch 2.

Blizzard was historically a company that charted its own path and found creative and unique ways to promote its games. Now, the best way to ensure Overwatch 2’s success is to follow the competition during a beta period. On top of those benefits, this approach keeps the focus on the game itself, not the questions and problematic conditions surrounding its development.

Mercy and Winston standing side by side
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How has Blizzard’s workplace changed since the revelations about rampant harassment last year? How did Chacko Sonny, Jeff Kaplan and Micheal Chu’s departures impact Overwatch 2’s design? How will Microsoft’s impending Activision Blizzard acquisition impact future support for Overwatch 2 and the studio as a whole? These are all significant questions looming over Overwatch 2 that Activision Blizzard would probably prefer not to address outside of highly controlled PR statements.

Now, most players will just be paying attention to the gameplay and excitement behind potentially getting a Twitch Drop with a code. Blizzard can generate hype through streamers who will signal-boost Overwatch 2 gameplay, likely without addressing or critiquing Blizzard’s company culture and the game’s troubled development. This approach, unfortunately, worked well for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and it now looks like Blizzard is seeing how well it works with Overwatch 2.

After years of waiting, it is exciting that some players will finally get their hands on Overwatch 2′s PvP beta and hopefully help mold the game with their feedback. Still, these Twitch Drops make it abundantly clear that Blizzard needs to think outside the box to promote Overwatch 2 and attract new players after several controversies. 

Tomas Franzese
A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
This League of Legends character (along with his fluffy pals) is coming to 2XKO
Braum from League of Legends running at the screen with his shield. There's a fluffy poro on his shoulder.

Braum Gameplay Reveal Trailer | 2XKO

Riot Games announced a new character coming to its League of Legends-themed fighting game 2XKO, and he's bringing some cute mascots along with him.

Read more
Overwatch 2 is collaborating with Transformers, and it looks radical
overwatch 2 transfomers crossover teaser transformers reinhardt

Overwatch 2 x Transformers Collaboration Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games

The long-awaited Transformers and Overwatch 2 collaboration is almost here. Blizzard Entertainment released a cinematic trailer on Monday teasing the crossover and introducing new skins.

Read more
I’m finally turning into a Valorant fan thanks to its Xbox port
Key art for Valorant on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Although I've followed and played a bit of Valorant over the years as I've covered it, I've never fully taken the plunge and gotten into Riot Games' intense hero shooter competitively. I simply don't like playing first-person shooters on PC. I understand that's a somewhat odd take because using a mouse and keyboard gives players such precise control, but I grew up playing Call of Duty games on a console rather than a PC. I could take the time to really learn and get used to mouse-and-keyboard controls for a game like Valorant, but it's so competitive, and proper teamwork is such a critical factor that it is too intimidating of a game to practice my PC skills in.

That's why I was grateful when I learned Riot Games was finally bringing Valorant to consoles with some major adjustments. Announced at Summer Game Fest, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Valorant are on the way and in closed beta testing right now. Riot granted me access to the Xbox beta, and after playing some more Valorant on Xbox Series X, I can tell I'm starting to get hooked. Valorant is a tightly designed competitive shooter, and the control tweaks Riot made to make it work on a controller feel great. I don't have to worry about competing with PC players using a mouse and keyboard either, just players who are already really good at the game with a controller.

Read more