Overwatch

The fifth season of the Overwatch League is all about “new.” With opening day on May 5th, this season boasts a new 5v5 format, a new game mode, new maps, a new commissioner, and even a completely new game as players shift from Overwatch to the Overwatch 2 beta. But with this season of new comes old problems. The pandemic still impacts logistics like international travel and live, in-person events. And the League itself is struggling with waning popularity amid backlash against its embattled developer, a lengthy…

Overwatch 2 beta dazzles you straight away with its stunning graphics that surprisingly do not severely impact its frame rates. But underneath its beautifully designed maps and characters, does this game have enough to warrant being called a sequel? I spent a few hours playing the ongoing closed beta to find out. Instantly, the UI changes are apparent, with the in-game scoreboard now boasting a classic look, which is in line with other first-person shooters out there. The Hero Select menu has also seen some minor…

The Overwatch 2 beta is finally live, and just like its predecessor, having a high frame rate is really important. Much has changed in the six years since the original Overwatch released, but the core game is the same. Following best practices from the first release, we’ve identified four settings you can tweak to boost your frames per second (fps) in Overwatch 2. If you want a full breakdown, make sure to read our guide on the best settings for Overwatch 2.  Turn on FSR and lower your render resolution One of the…

The Overwatch 2 beta is rolling, allowing players to jump in and relive the glory of the early days of the original Overwatch. To help you get the most out of the beta before it ends on May 17, I jumped in and tested the title to find the best settings for Overwatch 2.  The game is built on the bones of the original, so there’s nothing too surprising. Still, I rounded up my optimized graphics settings, some gameplay settings you need to change, and some benchmarks across the various presets to give you an idea about…

I used to be a huge Overwatch junkie. Before dropping the game because it simply got frustrating to play competitive matches, I was hooked on it. I loved playing with my friends, keeping up with the game’s always-evolving meta, and winning matches thanks to perfect teamwork. So far, the Overwatch 2 multiplayer beta is reinforcing all of those positives, while keeping negatives mostly out of sight. If you’ve seen people talk about the Overwatch 2 beta on Twitter (or have been watching streamers grind away at it for…

Overwatch 2 has been a long time coming. The game was announced years ago and suffered multiple delays. However, it now seems that Blizzard is starting to prepare for the game's full launch in earnest by rolling out the first-ever beta test for the highly anticipated hero shooter. This isn't an open beta, however, which is one in which anyone and everyone would be able to download it and test the game out. Instead, Blizzard is only allowing a limited number of people access to this limited-time test, though there are…

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…

Happy Overwatch 2 Beta Day! As many players awake to find the golden beta ticket in their inboxes, there will inevitably be those who are left without one. But take heart, heroes, for Blizzard has designed a way by which you can earn an invite to what is, essentially, Overwatch 2’s soft-launch day. For today only, anyone who connects their Battle.net account to their Twitch profile and watches at least four hours of Overwatch 2 from a list of streamers can earn access to the OW2 beta. You can find the list of approved…