Overwatch's 2021 Summer Games Release Date Announced


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Overwatch's Summer Games means a lot for Overwatch. Being one of the first yearly events to hit the game after launch, it has a lot to live up to

Here is the current Summer Games release date and when you can expect to try the game for yourself.

LATEST - Overwatch Summer Event Now Live

After hinting at new skins over on their Twitter page, the latest update is now live

If you want to get your hands on all those new skins, you may want to get playing early.

Release Date Announced

Over on their Twitter page, Blizzard announced the Summer Games would release on July 20th.

This leaves you just a day away from the next event.

When Was The Last Summer Games?

We know the Tokyo Olympics are on the way, but how does this relate to when we expect the Summer Games event to kick-off? Well... Below, we've listed all the previous Summer Games event release dates:

  • 2016: August 2 to August 23
  • 2017: August 8 to August 29
  • 2018: August 9 to August 30
  • 2019: July 16 to August 5
  • 2020: August 4 to August 25

As you can see, for the most part, they start in the first week of August. The Tokyo Olympic Games start a week before that and line up more with 2019's dates. It isn't outside of the realms of possibility to have this year's Summer Games event link with the Olympics in some way.

Ashe's Deadlock Challenge ran until July 5th, leaving about three weeks between the two events. That's more than enough of a break.

When Does the Overwatch Summer Games 2021 Event Start?

We now know that the next event will start on July 20th.

In a move that makes these kinds of things hard to predict, Blizzard has developed a habit of announcing event dates mere days before they begin. This is the same for this year's event.

It can mean events like the Summer Games can really take you off guard, but on the other hand, it's always a nice surprise.

Lucioball, Overwatch's high-octane take on soccer, has two teams of three players facing off, using a modified Lucio playstyle to score as many goals as possible within the time limit.

Lucioball is always a fun distraction from our regular Overwatch matches, and the best part is, there are often unique rewards tied to playing it!

summer games
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ON YOUR MARKS - The Summer Games is an annual Overwatch take on the real-world Summer Olympic Games

And of course, there are the Summer Games skins. it wouldn't be the Summer Games without dozens of Olympics-inspired new skins for all of your favourite heroes!

Since the event began in 2016, the Overwatch Summer Games have always been held in August, with the singular exception of 2019, when it was held in July.

That means that, while the seasons are changing, we still have a ways to go before receiving an official start date for the 2021 Summer Games.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Overwatch page.