A player versus environment (PvE) co-operative multiplayer mode will be released at a later time. The player versus player portion of the game is free to play, with all cosmetic items from Overwatch carried over while introducing new heroes, maps, and gamemodes. The game is a popular esport, with Blizzard funding and producing the global Overwatch League.Ī sequel, Overwatch 2, was announced in 2019 and entered beta in 2022.

Overwatch is considered to be among the greatest video games ever made, receiving numerous game of the year awards and other accolades. Blizzard reported over US$1 billion in revenue during the first year of its release and had more than 50 million players after three years.

Overwatch received universal acclaim from critics, who praised the game for its accessibility, the diverse appeal of its hero characters, its cartoonish art style, and enjoyable gameplay. An open beta before release drew in nearly 10 million players. Overwatch was unveiled at the 2014 BlizzCon event and was in a closed beta from late 2015 through early 2016. Some elements of Overwatch borrow concepts from the canceled Titan project. A portion of the Titan team were inspired by the success of team-based first-person shooters like Team Fortress 2 and the popularity of multiplayer online battle arena games, creating a hero-based shooter which emphasized teamwork. Overwatch is Blizzard's fourth major franchise and came about following the 2014 cancellation of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Titan. Blizzard added new characters, maps, and game modes post-release, all free of charge, with the only additional cost to players being optional loot boxes to purchase cosmetic items. Teams worked to complete map-specific objectives within a limited period of time. Cross-platform play was supported across all platforms.ĭescribed as a ' hero shooter', Overwatch assigned players into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a large roster of characters, known as 'heroes', with unique abilities. The game was first released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2016 and Nintendo Switch in October 2019. Overwatch was a 2016 team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game by Blizzard Entertainment.

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