Thousands of Overwatch 2 Beta keys to come during OWL Opening Weekend

By André González RodríguezUS Staff Writer

Now that the first Overwatch 2 Beta test is up and running players have been able to test many of the new features the Overwatch sequel has to offer.

These include the new hero DPS hero Sojourn, several hero reworks, the new game mode, Push, four new maps, and more.

However, outside of the lucky few who got invited into the beta or got access to it via Twitch drops, some are missing out on getting to test Overwatch 2 — and that’s where the Overwatch League (OWL) comes in.

Wanting to celebrate its fifth season, the league is giving away thousands of beta keys for Overwatch 2 during the opening weekend.

Overwatch 2 Beta keys giveaway coming during OWL Season 5

Celebrating the fifth season, the OWL has decided to give away 1,500 Overwatch 2 beta codes for each hour of the Opening Weekend broadcast!

Viewers will have to watch at least one hour of any of the eligible matchups to earn a chance at obtaining a beta key. Unlike Twitch drops and similar to opt-in invitations, this does not guarantee access to the Overwatch 2 Beta. This means players will have to get lucky in order to get to test Overwatch 2.

The OWL matches can be watched on the official YouTube account.

Here are the matches players are able to earn beta access from:

  • Los Angeles Gladiators vs. New York Excel: Thursday, May 5 at 3 pm EST
  • Vancouver Titans vs. Boston Uprising: Friday, May 6 at 4:30 pm EST
  • Washington Justice vs. Toronto Defiant: Saturday, May 7 at 3 pm EST
  • Florida Mayhem vs. Paris Eternal: Sunday, May 8 at 4:30 pm EST

How to claim Overwatch 2 Beta access via OWL

In order for viewers to gain beta access to the Overwatch 2 Beta through the OWL stream on YouTube, they will need to link their YouTube and Blizzard accounts.

To link a YouTube account with a Blizzard account, these steps can be followed:

  1. Log into YouTube and click on the profile icon in the top-right and choose Settings in the drop-down menu (YouTube via PC, YouTube App, or YouTube mobile website all work)
  2. From there, select Connected Apps on the left-hand side
  3. Look through the list and find Battle.net and click on “Connect” on the right side
  4. Once that’s done, you will be asked for permission to link the accounts, just press allow
  5. That’s it!

With all of that sorted, lucky viewers will be able to get their hands on the Overwatch 2 Beta. Worth noting that the beta only supports PC at the moment. This means that console players can’t test the game quite yet.

READ MORE: Overwatch 2 Orisa Rework: New Abilities Revealed