The days without Overwatch are over. The free-to-play Overwatch 2 launched today, replacing the original game with a redesigned and newly contested battle path.

Many changes have been made to the team-based tactics of the original game, but we're still not convinced they make it any better. It's all free, but with the optional $40 Watchpoints Pack, you can get the first season's premium Battle Pass, which comes with a new support hero, Chirico (opens in new tab). Perhaps the most unpopular change is how to unlock heroes in Overwatch 2 (opens in new tab).

Overwatch 2 is very different from the game originally announced for 2019; Blizzard promised very different abilities than you get in PvP and an entire talent tree system, all of which will have to wait for now.

However, the PvP side was updated with three new heroes: Sojourn (damage), Junker Queen (tank), and Kiriko (support). The Battle Pass and in-game store also offer a variety of new cosmetics, like the Mythic Cyber Demon Genji skin that lets you customize some of your armor; Blizzard will drop a new season (and themed Battle Pass) every nine weeks ( (open in new tab). Season 2 will feature a new tank hero, followed by new maps and new characters each season.

"Overwatch 2" launched on Tuesday, October 4 at 12 p.m. PDT as a free-to-play game for everyone. Here's what it looks like in some time zones:

You can currently download 50 GB of the game from the Battle.net launcher. Overwatch 2 was also released globally on PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch.

At launch, players are experiencing very long lines to get into the game; Blizzard is aware of the "Unexpected Server Error" message and will update players on the server status soon.

If you own Overwatch 1, you can log in before the end of Season 2 to receive a Founder's Pack that will unlock Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Chirico immediately. If you do not own Overwatch 1, you can still get Sojourn and Junker Queen for free if you log in during Season 1. They will also need to unlock most of the original game's hero roster by completing about 100 games (open in a new tab).

Overwatch 2 also requires a phone number tied to your Battle.net account to enable SMS verification; Blizzard has a blog post (opens in new tab) on how to add SMS protection to your account and cross-progression It also explains how to merge your Overwatch accounts into one in order to enable cross-progression. Cricket and other prepaid cell phone users have reported not being able to play the game because their numbers do not work; Blizzard has not yet said if there will be any changes to this rule.

Otherwise, please keep practicing your dexterity with the mouse. Because people will try to lock in new heroes before you do.