Overwatch 2is coming to Steam on August 10, with more Blizzard games to follow in the future. Blizzard has been hosting its games on its Battle.net platform since the 1990s, which is why the decision to bringOverwatch 2to Steam is likely to come as a shock to fans.
August 10 is set to be an absolutely massive day forOverwatch 2. On that day,Blizzard is launchingOverwatch 2Season 6with the special Invasion update that will add a brand-new Support hero, the Flashpoint game mode, and co-op PvE story missions that actually continue the game’s story. The unexpected move to bringOverwatch 2to Steam will go a long way in cementing August 10 as easily one of the most significant days inOverwatch’s history since the original version of the hero-shooter launched in 2016.
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As for why Blizzard has decided to bringOverwatch 2to Steam, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra explained, “It’s our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and attempt to exceed their expectations in everything we do. While Battle.net remains a priority for us now and into the future, we’ve heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games, starting withOverwatch 2on August 10th. We’re happy to work with Valve to make that happen.“Valve’s Gabe Newellcommented on the situation as well, stating, “Gamers and developers are both going to benefit fromOverwatch 2coming to Steam. Gamers will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the effects of having the talented team at Blizzard helping us evolve our supported features and functionality forOverwatch 2.” Potential Steam Deck compatibility forOverwatch 2was not specified in the initial announcement.
When is Overwatch 2 Coming to Steam?
While this is the official explanation, one has to wonder if there may be another important factor fueling Blizzard’s decision to bringOverwatch 2to Steam. In its latest earnings report, Activision Blizzard admitted thatOverwatch 2player engagement is down. There are many PC gamers who strictly play on Steam, and so by bringing the game to Steam, it’s opening the door to potentially millions of other games to jump intoOverwatch 2and help give the game a truly massive boost come the highly-anticipated August 10 update.
Those who plan on checking outOverwatch 2on Steam should note that it will support Steam achievements and Steam friends lists. And while gamers won’t have to actually play the game through Battle.net,Overwatch 2on Steam does require a Battle.net account. This is the same across all platforms thatOverwatch 2is currently available on, but it’s something that might still make some Steam gamers hesitate.
It will be interesting to see how Steam gamers react toOverwatch 2and what the PC gaming community at large thinks of Blizzard releasing one of its games on Steam. If the experiment is a success, one has to imagine that the potential for allBlizzard gamescoming to Steam is on the table, though the company stopped short of revealing other titles from its roster that could make the jump.
Overwatch 2is available now in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
