Overwatch

The Overwatch beta will be back next month, Blizzard says. They’re planning on adding a new game mode to the hero-based shooter that will launch when it returns

Curious about the future of Overwatch’s progression system? Here’s director Jeff Kaplan talking about how they’re iterating on the design for Blizzard’s character-based shooter, which will re-enter beta early next year.

Overwatch is going to release new characters and maps as free updates, rather than paid DLC, game director Jeff Kaplan said in a developer update today. Previously nobody knew for certain how Blizzard would monetize this aspect of their game. Phew! via Polygon

Overwatch’s beta is taking a break. On Dec 10th Blizzard’s team-based shooter will go offline for an “extended” period. The break is temporary; the beta will return in mid-to-late January. Blizzard plans to use the time to make improvements to the core game and work on features like spectating and progression.

One Of My Best Overwatch Plays Was Pure Dumb Luck

I wish I could tell you that I knew who I shot at blindly and somehow ended up killing. Ah well. Next time!

An Overwatch Character Is Helping Me Enjoy A Multiplayer Shooter

Overwatch, with its heavy MOBA influences, isn’t like other multiplayer first-person shooters. And the more I play of the game, the more I think that’s a very, very good thing. The thing I’ve enjoyed most about Overwatch so far is how extreme it’s been in designing its characters. With four distinct classes of combatant to…

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Overwatch’s new tank character “D. Va” has an ult that triggers her giant armored mech to detonate and kill everything caught within its blast range. “Everything” includes you, I just found out in the hardest possible way. You know what the best part of this is? I somehow got that match’s play of the game…for…

Zarya is one of the coolest characters in Overwatch. She is also, like all characters, subject to crossplay. This is Jechts’ attempt at the character, which he pretty much nails, from the hair down to the tattoo on the shoulder. Photos by Alive Alf

Let’s Play A Round Of Paladins, Where Overwatch Meets Hearthstone 

Launching into closed beta today, Hi-Rez Studios’ Paladins is a hero-based shooter like Overwatch, but its collectible card-based in-game leveling system is something else. Here’s how a match of Paladins plays out. Players pick a character out of the eight currently available (no doubling up) and spawn in their base. The match begins with the…

Blizzard Has Big Plans For Overwatch‘s Story

Overwatch is a competitive team-based shooter—not exactly the genre people go to for stirring tales and convincing characters. Blizzard wants to change that. For now, there’s no plan for a single-player Overwatch campaign. How, then, can Blizzard tell a story without tossing up roadblocks to the fast action people seek in these sorts of games?…

Something Weird Happened In My Last Game Of Overwatch

I told you guys that D. Va was a total badass. But did I tell you that she’s so much of a badass that she can get Overwatch’s coveted “Play of the Game” just by walking? It’s moments like these that make me stop and think: “And this is why Overwatch is still in beta.”

Overwatch’s New Mech Warrior ‘D. Va’ Is A Total Badass

Shortly after Blizzcon 2015 ended, Blizzard added three playable characters to its excellent new shooter Overwatch. Most of the hype is centered around the pro gamer-turned-mech pilot “D. Va,” which makes sense, since she fights with a gigantic friggin’ mech that’s bright pink. Awesome. In Overwatch lore, D. Va is actually a fictional former StarCraft…

MOBAs Can Learn A Thing Or Two From Overwatch

Overwatch is, at the very least, a MOBA-like game. This means that it has some features that are similar to the ones in Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, and Dota 2. Except they’re a lot better in Overwatch I’ve been playing Overwatch for a little over a week now, and I fully expect…

What’s More Exciting Than Overwatch? More Overwatch Animation. 

Yannick might be quite fond of Overwatch, but I wasn’t charmed by an online shooter. I was charmed by a beautifully animated trailer. As this storyboard animation reel from BlizzCon demonstrates, there’s a lot more animation on the way. During yesterday’s World of Overwatch panel at BlizzCon, Chris Metzen and crew talked about how a…

Why Overwatch Isn’t Free-To-Play

Everyone thought Blizzard’s excellent new shooter, Overwatch, was gonna be free-to-play. Then it wasn’t. It’s going for $40 (or $60 for a special edition). What happened? The long and short of it is, while Overwatch—with its expanding roster of MOBA-esque heroes and focus on multiplayer—might seem like a no-brainer for the “party upfront, business in…

“IT’S JOHN CENA.” Overheard (about a life-sized Overwatch statue) at BlizzCon. Winston is, of course, a kindly yet terrifying genetically engineered gorilla—not John Cena, who is a different kindly yet terrifying genetically engineered gorilla. I wonder who would win a fight. Here’s the statue up-close: He even has actual hair. Clearly someone cares a lot…

Overwatch Base Price Will Be $40, $60 On Consoles

Turns out Overwatch won’t be free-to-play, as many (myself included!) had predicted. Instead it’ll cost you $40 to buy the base version of Blizzard’s new hero shooter on PC, Blizzard just announced. To buy the premium “Origins” edition, which comes with a bunch of skins and other perks and is available for PC, PS4, and…

Overwatch Is Coming To Consoles [UPDATE]

Since Blizzard announced Overwatch for PC last year, most of the gaming world has assumed it’s coming to consoles too. Now, GameStop’s all but confirmed it. As of this morning, GameStop is taking pre-orders on the hero shooter for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, according to clerks at an NYC store I just spoke to.…

Overwatch Player Steamrolls Entire Team With Kamikaze Strike

Overwatch’s giant hammer-wielding tank of a man Reinhardt has a powerful charge move that rockets him forward, catching any enemies caught in his path and dragging them along with him. Overwatch also has a lot maps with dangerous precipices to fall off of. You probably see where this is going. In a recent match (via…

What A Typical Match Of Overwatch Looks Like

A lot of gamers have been losing their shit recently because of Overwatch, which just went into closed beta and is already fantastic. You might be wondering: Hey, what does it look like to actually PLAY this game everyone’s so excited about? Wonder no more, my friend! For the sake of clarity, I captured a…