Blizzard Entertainment's popular online first-person shooter game Overwatch will soon support cross-platform play across all of its platforms, the developer has announced.
"Cross-Play is coming to Overwatch soon, 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," Blizzard explained in an official post, though clarified that this excludes China. The developer also announced that, to commemorate the launch of cross-play, anyone who logs into Overwatch between now and the end of 2021 will receive a free Golden Loot Box.
"From its inception, Overwatch has been about bringing players and communities together," said Overwatch co-director Aaron Keller in a developer update video posted to YouTube. "A future worth fighting for is aspirational, but it is also inclusive. We have players from all over the world, from all walks of life, playing across all of our platforms. But they're not always able to play with each other. This is why we're excited to announce that cross-play will be coming to Overwatch. You will be able to play with your friends across all of our platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch."
Keller went on to elaborate regarding a few key details. "Cross-play is coming to Overwatch. Cross-progression will not be available at launch," he said. "We understand that this feature is important for some of you, and it's something that the Overwatch team is excited to work on in the future. Also, console players will need to create and link a Battle.net account in order to participate in cross-play." (Those who play the game on PC should already have a Battle.net account linked). Keller also explained that certain game modes will have "special rules" for matchmaking, particularly when it comes to competitive play. A full FAQ section can be found at the bottom of Blizzard's original PlayOverwatch.com post.
Overwatch originally launched for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May of 2016. A Switch version arrived a few years later in October of 2019. A sequel, Overwatch 2, was also announced in 2019, though currently lacks an official release window.
Developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch is available now on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Source: PlayOverwatch.com | YouTube