As Blizzard evolves as a studio, inside and out, one of the driving ideas pushing them forward is to meet players around the world where they are and make their games as easy as possible to access and play. They aim to provide everyone with a chance to experience their universes with old friends while making new ones, no matter how players choose to play. They are excited to announce that they are bringing a selection of their games to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2, which will be available on the platform from August 10.
Gabe Newell, Valve’s president, expressed his enthusiasm, stating that both gamers and developers will benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam. Players will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the collaboration with Blizzard, helping to evolve supported features and functionality for Overwatch 2.
As a free-to-play, team-based game, Overwatch 2 is considered the perfect title for Blizzard’s debut on the Steam platform. It offers more new types of gameplay experiences than ever before in the game’s storied 7-year history, including the first-ever set of PvE Story Missions, a new core PvP game mode with two new maps, and the introduction of a new hero. This presents a great opportunity for new players to enjoy their first experience of the Overwatch universe.
Overwatch 2’s presence on Steam is in addition to Battle.net, ensuring that the existing community accessing the game through Battle.net can continue playing without any changes required.
For players on Steam, they will need to connect Overwatch 2 to a Battle.net account, as Blizzard requires for all platforms, enabling cross-platform play and more. Steam users will also have access to features of the platform while playing Overwatch 2, such as Steam achievements, their Steam friends list, and the ability to invite them to play in-game.
Blizzard looks forward to observing the response from the Overwatch community – both veteran players and new ones who come on board through Steam – and eagerly anticipates hearing their feedback.
The Overwatch 2 Steam page is live now, and is available to wishlist! We invite the Overwatch community to give their new teammates playing from Steam a warm welcome on August 10!
