The recent announcement that Blizzard plans to introduceOverwatch 2earlier than expected, rolling out what’s currently finished and then the rest of the game over time, took many by surprise. Perhaps even more surprising is how quickly that rollout began, withOverwatch 2’s private alpha already ongoing. Now Blizzard appears ready to address the current state ofOverwatch 2, feedback from the alpha, and plans for the beta, during a special developer broadcast airing on Friday.In an announcement made mid-day Thursday, Blizzard confirmed that a specialOverwatch 2developer livestream is planned for tomorrow. The broadcast will air at 12 PM PST/3:00 PM ET on the official PlayOverwatch Twitch channel. Participants will includeOverwatchesports host and commentator Soe Gschwind-Repp andOverwatch 2game director Aaron Keller, as well as other members of the Blizzard development team. Again, the focus will be onOverwatch 2alpha impressions, as well as goals for the first closed beta.RELATED:Rumor: Overwatch 2 Could Be Giving Doomfist Major ReworkTechnically, theOverwatch 2alpha has been under NDA, meaning that this will be the first opportunity to hear impressions from it. In reality, there have been some leaks so far. Whether it’sxQc accidentally openingOverwatch 2’s alphaon stream or various proOverwatchplayers vague-tweeting about the alpha, some hints have been shared despite the NDA. It will be interesting to hear how Blizzard’s official feedback resonates with certain criticisms already going around online – thatOverwatch 2is slower-paced, that supports feel less impactful.
As forOverwatch 2’s beta, Blizzard has said prior that it plans to start it in late April. As of right now, that timeline seems likely, if only because Blizzard continues to be focused onOverwatch 2’s usage for theOverwatch League 2022season. Perhaps Blizzard will share a start date, as well as howOverwatchplayers can apply to join.
What makes tomorrow’s developer livestream forOverwatch 2so exciting, though, isn’t necessarily what will be revealed, but that it’s happening at all. AsOverwatchfans are deeply familiar with now, Blizzard has been incredibly disconnected from theOverwatchcommunity regarding ongoing development for some time now. It was as if Jeff Kaplan’s departure severed the communication between Blizzard and players. Rebuilding that bridge is such an important effort, considering how vital it was toOverwatch’s initial success.
The driving message, even now, is thatOverwatch 2– or at least a portion of it – will be arriving much sooner than expected and more and more information will be shred week to week. Look forward to Friday’s show for more information fromBlizzard, airing on the PlayOverwatch Twitch channel at noon PT.
Overwatch 2is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
