Blizzard Entertainment has announced that a playable beta test for Overwatch 2 will arrive to PC in late April with the aim to reach a larger group of players.
This comes after the company has revealed that it'll first go through an alpha test for the game that had its first gameplay trailer in 2019.
According to the company, the release plan for Overwatch 2 has changed as they plan a "decoupling" of the game's PvP and PvE elements in an attempt to bring new Overwatch content sooner while it continues work on the sequel's single-player and cooperative aspects.
LATEST - Overwatch 2 Developer Livestream detailed release date and gameplay
Blizzard Entertainment detailed what's to come in Overwatch 2's beta in their latest Developer Livestream. It included gameplay changes, a new Ping System, and gave a release date of Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
Some of the gameplay changes they mentioned included the rework to Doomfist, changing his role from DPS to tank, giving information on how the new Ping System will work, and how the change to 5v5 has affected the game.
To read more on what they revealed visit here.
Blizzard announces Overwatch 2 Beta Test
This change in strategy was announced in an update on Thursday, March 10 in which Overwatch game director Aaron Keller revealed that the new alpha test will be playable by "Blizzard Employees, Overwatch League pros, and a few other select groups," until the expected beta will look to launch across all regions in a bigger, but still closed, audience.
“This closed beta will include a larger group of testers who we will ask to provide gameplay feedback,” Keller said. “Our goal for this phase is to test our new features, content, and systems before we shift to stress-testing the servers with a wider player base in future Beta tests.”
Keller described Overwatch 2's PvP as “the most significant release we’ve had since our launch.” The game will include its first new hero in nearly two years, Soujorn. Blizzard also announced several hero reworks, some of which have been already shown due to the game's multiplayer transitioning to a 5v5 style from the original 6v6.
Additionally, the beta will also include the new game mode, Push, that was shown off during Blizzcon 2019, and four new multiplayer maps: Toronto, Rome, New York City, and Monte Carlo.
Originally, Blizzard Entertainment announced in November of last year that they were "planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged," suggesting that both of these titles that were announced in 2019 could possibly go beyond 2022 and into 2023. However, when it pertains to Overwatch 2, this might change as the game entering its first beta might signify a possible earlier release date.
When Overwatch 2 was originally announced, the game was taken in as a PvE-focused expansion, one that would dive deep into the franchise's lore and its character. This would come in the form of Hero and Story Missions.
We'll soon see if this creative vision for Overwatch 2 has held up thanks to the upcoming Overwatch 2 beta.