The action of Overwatch. takes place in a technologically advanced, highly stylized future earth. In a time of global crisis, an international task force of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities known as Overwatch had come together to restore peace to a war-torn world. After many years, the group’s influence waned, and it was eventually disbanded. Overwatch might be gone now . . . but the world still needs heroes.

With an emphasis on accessibility and pure fun, Overwatch brings Blizzard’s signature easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay to the FPS genre. Harnessing the power of their hero of choice, players will join forces in teams of six and battle each other across a range of futuristic global locations, from the hologram-lit streets of London to a bazaar in the shadows of a high-tech Egyptian pyramid. Every battlefield is iconic and built to highlight each character’s unique abilities, and fights can shift from streets to rooftops to open skies within the span of a breath.

While each hero represents a formidable force on their own, players can amplify their potential by assembling into a well-balanced team and creatively combining powers. No matter which hero or playstyle they prefer, players will be able to team up and accomplish the incredible in Overwatch.

As players compete in matches—win or lose—they’ll level up and earn Loot Boxes, each containing a combination of four items players can use to customize their heroes, including in-game credits and cosmetic goodies including skins, sprays, voice lines, and new animations. Among these items are legendary skins that dramatically alter heroes’ appearances, such as the post-apocalyptic Scavenger D.Va, or Lone Wolf Hanzo, which fills Overwatch’s expert bowman with the spirit of the wild.

Cross-Play Beta is coming to Overwatch, allowing players to group up and play together. Powered by the latest global Battle.net update, players from around the world can team up, regardless of their preferred platform. The global Battle.net updates merges friends lists from different territories into one, so players no longer need to switch regions in Battle.net just to play with buddies on the other side of the planet.*

For the release of cross-play, all players will need to make a Battle.net account and link their appropriate console accounts. Everyone who follows the steps below and logs in to Overwatch by Dec. 31, 2021 will receive a Golden Loot Box to celebrate the launch of Cross-Play Beta.

We’ve always envisioned Battle.net as a place for players to connect, collaborate, and play their favorite games. Now, we’re realizing that dream on a truly global level.

“When Battle.net first came out, the purpose was to deliver a connected, multiplayer experience for a single title,” says Arron Goolsbey, VP of Platform Engineering for Battle.net. “Fast-forward 10 to 15 years, and Battle.net had evolved into a service that spanned all Blizzard games but was still constructed with the primary notion that players would mostly play with others within their region. The internet has come a long way in the last 10 years, enabling global and cross-platform experiences with high levels of quality. So now, Battle.net is evolving once again.”

Starting today, friends lists from different territories will be merged into one (excluding China), so you’ll no longer need to switch regions in Battle.net to talk to your buddies on the other side of the planet. “As Global Battle.net rolls out, players around the world will be able to come together all across the larger Blizzard ecosystem without any hurdles for the first time ever,” says Diana Hubbard, Platform Design Manager. In doing so, they will be able to effortlessly expand their friendships, groups, and communities—paving the way for forging new bonds over our present and future epic gaming experiences. This is just the first step, and it will only get better from here.” To accent this new era of global gaming and social connectivity on Battle.net, we’ve also updated our logo.

“We realized some time ago that our players would be better served by a global Battle.net that did away with the concept of regions,” says Jeff Allison, Lead Product Manager for Battle.net. “But breaking down these barriers was a significant engineering task. Now that we’ve done it, we look forward to a future where all Battle.net players can communicate and game together no matter where they are.”

Battle.net’s global updates also include cross-platform functionality. This has given our game developers the ability to let you play with others between PC and console seamlessly. Overwatch players will be the first to experience these new cross-play capabilities.

“You will be able to make friends anywhere as games published on Battle.net begin to utilize this evolved experience,” says Goolsbey. “We look forward to a future where billions of players worldwide can make friends and play together, regardless of where they are and what device they play on.”

These backend updates to Battle.net will also enable developers to build even more globally connected experiences for our players in the future, so stay tuned!

Prepare Your Account

All console players will be required to make a Battle.net account and link it to their console (Xbox, PSN, Nintendo) account. PC players do not need to take this step – You already have a Battle.net account. Upon launching the game, you will be prompted to link your console account to a Battle.net account. Follow the steps below to create a Battle.net account, then link your console game account to your Battle.net account.

Creating a Battle.net Account

1. Visit Battle.net
2. Create a free Battle.net account
3. Once you create your Battle.net account, go to your Account Settings
4. Click on the “Connections” section under Account Settings and link your console

 

Linking Your Console Game and Battle.net Accounts

These instructions apply to the in-game steps console players will need to take once Cross-Play is available.

1. Launch the game on your system
2. Press the confirmation button to progress through the Overwatch welcome screen
3. You will be presented with an alpha-numeric code and a QR code
   1. The alpha-numeric code can be entered at http://battle.net/pair
   2. The QR code may be scanned with a mobile app to take you to the linking webpage, which will be pre-populated with the code provided in-game
4. Log in with your Battle.net account credentials to finalize the connection between your console game and Battle.net accounts
5. You will receive a message in-game that notifies that your account is now successfully connected
6. Exit and relaunch Overwatch