Tag: Overwatch 2

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Overwatch 2 characters have already topped PornHub searches

Overwatch 2 only just launched on October 11th, but it’s already won over the… hearts of PornHub users.

As noted by Kotaku, D.Va, a returning Overwatch character with a new look in the sequel, was one of the trending searches on the porn site’s home page. When I just checked PornHub (for journalistic purposes, naturally), fellow returning hero Widowmaker shows as trending.

While Overwatch characters have always been popular on PornHub, it’s nonetheless amusing that the sequel has already garnered so much attention. It should be noted that Overwatch 2 experienced connectivity issues at launch, which developer Blizzard attributed in part to a DDoS attack, so I guess fans had to find other ways to have some Overwatch-themed fun.

Who is your favourite Overwatch character? (To play as, of course.) Let us know in the comments.

Note: Blizzard parent company Activision Blizzard is facing ongoing legal action related to reported work culture issues. Specifically, the gaming giant was accused in a July 2021 lawsuit of fostering a toxic “frat boy” culture at its U.S. studios in which many employees, particularly women, dealt with harassment, gender discrimination, unequal pay and other forms of mistreatment. Bobby Kotick, the company’s CEO, has specifically come under fire for allegedly working to cover up these reports and has faced calls to resign, yet he still leads the company. Recently, Axios reported that Activision Blizzard has also been hit with two setbacks related to its legal battle with California over these workplace misconduct allegations. While the conversation has shifted to Microsoft’s pending acquisition of the company, it’s nonetheless important to recognize what has transpired at the Call of Duty maker.

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 may require a registered phone number to play

As we approach the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, players will need a registered phone number to play.

According to an updated support page on Blizzard’s website, Battle.net may require players to register a phone number to jump into the battlefield. This potentially presents a barrier of entry for some.

Based on details on the website, Battle.net may not accept prepaid plans. This means users on a pay-as-you-go contract from a telecom service won’t be eligible for registration.

“Any mobile phone in a supported country with a data plan and that is not prepaid or a VOIP number, can be used with this service,” the page states.

This appears to be a new requirement Activision Blizzard is instilling in newly launched titles. This controversial decision is also being scrutinized across Overwatch 2. Upon the Early Access launch, players discovered that they were locked out of their accounts due to their phone plans. This issue was also compounded by several DDoS attacks affecting players from accessing the game.

The page continues to state, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, newly created Overwatch 2 accounts, and newly created Call of Duty: Modern Warfare accounts require a phone number.”

Furthermore, the page lists the following:

  • Messaging apps like iMessage (iOS) or WhatsApp (iOS, Android) are not supported.
  • Mobile phones with prepaid plans may not work with the phone notification service.
  • Phone notifications cannot be used with Voice over IP (VoIP), and VoIP numbers that are transferred to a local provider are not eligible for the service.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a premium game with an $89.99 price tag. However, Overwatch 2 is free-to-play. This pricing model typically comes with the assumption that the title offers a lower barrier of entry for players. However, forcing players to have a monthly phone contract in order to play is counteractive to this strategy.

Likewise, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is a free-to-play game and is releasing on November 16th. It’s likely that, once again, players will require a phone plan in order to drop into the new Al Mazrah map. However, this is currently unconfirmed.

Blizzard did apologize for instituting the phone number requirement for long-time Overwatch players. Retroactive to its new requirement, Blizzard states players who have played since June 9th, 2021, will not have to register a number. Whether the community backlash regarding Modern Warfare 2 will have similar results remains to be seen.

Image credit: Activision

Source: VGC

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DDoS attack on Overwatch 2 results in never-ending match queues

Despite releasing yesterday, Overwatch 2 players haven’t been able to get into matches due to an ongoing DDoS attack on the title’s servers.

According to dozens of social media posts, eager Overwatch 2 players are stuck behind a queue with hundreds and sometimes thousands of players in front of them. In a recent tweet, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra tweeted that the title is experiencing server issues and said the developer is currently working to fix the problem.

However, Ybarra followed up with another tweet explaining that the game is suffering from a “mass DDoS attack” on its servers. Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller says that the studio will “work throughout the night” to get Overwatch 2 back up and running.

While Overwatch 2 is very similar to its predecessor, it reduces the team size from six to fix (removing one tank character), features new maps, heroes and other additions like a ping system. Beyond the ongoing DDoS attack, the title also suffers from glitches tied to items and in-game currency disappearing.

Free-to-play shooter Overwatch 2 is available on PlayStation, Xbox and desktop. For more on Overwatch 2, check out Dean Daley’s hands-on with the title.

It should be noted that Activision Blizzard is facing ongoing legal action related to reported work culture issues. Specifically, the gaming giant was accused in a July 2021 lawsuit of fostering a toxic “frat boy” culture at its U.S. studios in which many employees, particularly women, dealt with harassment, gender discrimination, unequal pay and other forms of mistreatment. Bobby Kotick, the company’s CEO, has specifically come under fire for allegedly working to cover up these reports and has faced calls to resign, yet he still leads the company. Recently, Axios reported that Activision Blizzard has also been hit with two setbacks related to its legal battle with California over these workplace misconduct allegations. 

Source: @Qwik, @aaronkellerOW Via: Engadget

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It will take new players 100 matches to unlock all original heroes in Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 will have a bit of a grinding curve for new players.

While someone like me who owned the original game will have access to all of the title’s characters at launch, it will take new players about 100 matches before they can play as the characters on the original roster.

According to a recent Overwatch 2 blog post, Blizzard has received feedback that its pool of characters is overwhelming for new players, so it’s implementing a ‘First Time User Experience’ (FTUE) for people new to the game.

FTUE occurs in stages. The first stage has new players unlock game modes and chat functions, which will happen quickly. In phase two, players will unlock the original Overwatch heroes by playing roughly 100 matches. In contrast, they’ll only be able to unlock new heroes like Kiriko from the battle pass.

Competitive play won’t be unlocked until a new player wins 50 Quick Play matches, but FTUE functions are lifted when playing in a group for most game modes.

This should also help with ‘smurfing,’ the act of making a brand-new account — usually to help friends climb the ranks — and playing ranked far below your actual skill level.

You will not have to play through FTUE if you have an account with Overwatch playtime or if you own the Watchpoint Pack.

Overwatch 2 hits consoles and PC on October 4th.

Source: Blizzard Via: Destructoid

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Overwatch 2 details Battle Pass and new support hero, Kiriko

At Tokyo Game Show 2022, Blizzard showed more of Overwatch 2‘s newest hero, explained more about the game’s battle pass and revealed more details about season one.

Firstly, Sojourn and Junker Queen are free for everyone who downloads Overwatch 2 before the end of season one. Following that, Kiriko, the newly announced support Hero, will be free for everyone who owns the original Overwatch.

With the free battle pass, you can earn the new hero (if you didn’t already have the first Overwatch) and also get two new epic skins, two souvenirs, one weapon charm, and 15 additional rewards.

The premium tier of the battle pass offers Kiriko as an instant unlock; you can also get a 20 percent season experience boost (presumably to help you gain levels) a new Mythic skin, five legendary skins, an additional epic skin and 66 additional awards, which includes emotes, victory poses, player icons, sprays and more.

This Battle Pass’ Legendary skins follow a cyberpunk theme, and there are skins for Hanzo, Junker Queen, Sojourn, Kiriko, Zenyatta and Roadhog. Future battle passes will have other themes.

The Mythic skin for Genji changes colour and is pretty animated.

Additionally, the new Overwatch shop will have a ‘Just for You’ section with personalized offers based on what you prefer to play and equip in-game. You can also purchase new bundles weekly in the in-game store and complete weekly challenges to earn coins.

The update also revealed that the Halloween event this year has changed and will take place from October 25th to November 8th. 

Source: Overwatch

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Overwatch 2’s new heroes reportedly won’t be free

In Overwatch, characters have always been free; however, Overwatch 2 is seemingly looking to change that.

Overwatch 2, which launches on October 4th, will require players to get new heroes via the free track of the Battle Pass. This was learned through an update on the game’s ‘Watchpoint Pack,’ which is a purchasable content bundle that gets early adopters free skins, in-game currency and access to the season one premium battle pass.

The Watchpoint Pack states that premium battle pass users will get access to the unrevealed, teased hero ‘Kiriko.’ Following the notice of the unintentional leak, the Overwatch team removed mention of the character’s name. However, this has led people to suspect that new heroes will not be able to unlock unless you make some progression on the free track of the battle pass. Therefore, if you get the paid variant, you’ll get the hero immediately.

Overwatch 2 is a free game, so it makes sense that they’ve had to change the formula. The worry here, though, is that you’ll only be able to play characters via the progression model of a battle pass. Games like Apex Legends and Smite require players to simply use in-game currency to purchase new characters. Another fear is competitive gameplay. Sometimes, characters in Overwatch are pretty essential in some team comps, so it’ll be difficult for some players who’ve missed parts of a season to jump in and feel at home when they aren’t able to play certain characters.

It’s worth noting that there’s been no official word from Blizzard about this yet.

Source: The Verge

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Overwatch 2’s first console beta was enjoyable, but the queue times were crazy

With Overwatch 2’s second public beta coming to a close in a few days, here are my initial thoughts on the game. While I played a bit of the first beta on my roommate’s PC, the second beta made its way to console players, and with the founder’s pack, I could finally play the game on Sony’s PlayStation 5 and with my friends online.

First off, the Overwatch 2 beta only offers the PVP aspect of the game, which will also be the case when the game finally launches on October 4th. With that in mind, the beta is a great example of what to expect from the free-to-play title.

The beta includes two new characters for console players, Sojourn (a DPS hero) and Junker Queen (a tank hero). It also offers a new map type called Push that works like a tug of war, but instead of pulling a rope back and forth, you’re guiding a robot. With Sojourn and the Push map, ‘New Queen St,’ we finally encounter some Canadian representation in the game. In the original Overwatch, it was discovered through a comic that Pharah’s father is from Canada, but that was all we saw until Overwatch 2.

The new characters in Overwatch 2 are a great and welcome addition to the title. The last time Overwatch fans got to play a new character was Echo back in April of 2020.

I’m a Sojourn one-trick now, as Blizzard gave her a lot of movement and a very fun railgun. It’s also worth noting that Overwatch 2‘s gameplay is 5v5 instead of 6v6, as a tank has been removed from the lineup. Junker Queen, being the new tank in the beta, seems pretty cool (my friends love playing as her), but I wasn’t fond of the fact that she’s only in tank, so I didn’t play as her much.

While I overall enjoyed my time with the Overwatch 2 beta, two significant issues stand out. The first is the queue times (to be fair, the problem improved throughout the beta). However, until the last week of the console beta, queue times for DPS or tank have been ridiculous. Sometimes I’d be waiting for over 20 minutes for a game. Near the end of the beta, a patch dropped that improved queue times, thankfully.

The second issue is the game isn’t very different from its predecessor; it’s still just Overwatch. Overwatch 2 feels more like an update and not an entirely new game. Don’t get me wrong, Blizzard added a couple of new characters, reworked and updated others like Bastion and Doomfist, and added a game mode and new maps, but we’ve been waiting for years, and it’s still pretty much the same title. That said, I’m happy Blizzard is making Overwatch 2 free-to-play and adding a Battle Pass system.

When Overwatch 2 launches in October, the game will offer Mythic skins, new banners, charms, a new support hero (which will hopefully help with queue times), more balance changes, a Battle Pass and more. There may be another beta before the official launch, and even though there might not be a lot to offer, I’ll still definitely spend time playing it.

Image credit: Overwatch

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Here’s how to get guaranteed access to Overwatch 2 beta 2 for console and PC

Overwatch 2‘s next beta launches on June 28th, and it will be available for console and PC. However, if you opt-in to the beta, you might not get access. So far, there’s only one way to get guaranteed access to this second beta, but it’s going to cost you.

If you don’t mind coughing up $54.99 you can get access to the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack, which will get you immediate access to the June 28th beta. This includes the new tank hero, Junker Queen. This will also be the first time console players get to try out 5v5 PVP, the new Push mode and more.

Additionally, the bundle includes new Legendary skins for Cassidy and Soldier 76 that’ll be available when Overwatch 2 comes out. Further, you’ll get the Premium Battle Pass for Season 1 for a little bit of a head start. As well, you’ll receive 2,000 Overwatch virtual currency, which you’ll be able to spend in a new in-game shop. Lastly, it’ll come with a new Overwatch 2 Player icon.

I know I’ll be playing the console beta on June 28th; hopefully, you will, too.

Source: Battle.net

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Overwatch 2 will add four new heroes by the end of the year

At Blizzard’s Overwatch Beta 2 event, the company showed off more of Junker Queen, a new map and what’s in store for the title.

Game director Aaron Keller announced that Overwatch 2 will include three new heroes, six new maps, the new PVP mode, 30 new skins and a mythic skin. We’ve learned about two of the three heroes, Junker Queen and Sojourn, but they’ll show more of the new support hero in the coming months.

After October 4th, the next season starts on December 6th with a new map, a new tank hero, and 30 more skins. And Overwatch plans on delivering either new modes, heroes or maps every nine weeks. The company plans on releasing new heroes every other season and a map in between.

There will be no more loot boxes, and instead will use the battle pass method and a store. The next new map is Rio De Janeiro, which is a Push map.

Additionally, there are banners and charms coming alongside Mythic skins. It seems like the first mythic skin will be for Genji and will add customizable pieces.

During the event, they showed off more of the Junker Queen, including her move set and storyline.

On another note, Overwatch 2 now offers Dolby Atmos and 3D surround sound for the console. Reportedly, they’ve added a ton of new voice lines for the game.

The player-versus-enemy (PVE) mode for Overwatch is still coming in 2021. The PvE aims to tell the story of the characters, finish previous storylines for characters and tell new stories. You’ll be able to check out Torbjorn’s home and more.

Overwatch 2 comes out on October 4th for free, and the next beta available for PC and console launches on June 28th.

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Overwatch 2’s second beta to arrive on June 28 on console

Activision Blizzard is releasing a new beta for Overwatch 2 on June 28th, following the PVP beta for PC in April 2022.

The Overwatch 2 beta will launch on June 28th on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. Sign-ups for the beta will be available on June 16th, followed by more details on the game.

In addition, the beta has teased two features: a new character called Junker Queen and a new map.

On October 4th, Overwatch 2 will be available “in early access” on PVP on PC, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Image Credit: Activision Blizzard

Sources: Activision Blizzard