It is important to keep in mind what is going on within Activision Blizzard at this time regarding ongoing allegations about the work culture. The ongoing lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the company is over reported toxic workplace culture. The bulk of the suit focuses on “violations of the state’s civil rights and equal pay laws,” specifically regarding the treatment of women and other marginalized groups. To learn more about the proceedings thus far, including details listed in the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, please check out our previous coverage here.
Overwatch 2 was announced in 2019, and following years of development, the updated hero shooter is headed into its first PvP beta test starting tomorrow. Ahead of the beta, Blizzard Entertainment has posted a FAQ about the test, answering all kinds of questions about who can participate, when the test goes live, and how one can join in on the fun. We’ve combed through the FAQ to sift out the most crucial info you need to know.
First, players who have been selected to participate will recieve an email to whichever address their Blizzard account is linked to. Those emails will be sent out starting tomorrow morning and will continue to be sent to more participants throughout the day. To play in the Overwatch 2 beta, you’ll have to own a copy of the original Overwatch on PC. There aren’t any specific times of day the PVP beta will be running, so feel free to play whenever if you get in. The beta will run from April 26 until May 17.
What if you don’t get an email from Blizzard? Well, there is another way to join the Overwatch 2 beta through Twitch Drops. If you watch specific Twitch streamers (which Blizzard has listed in the FAQ) for a certain number of hours between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific, you can get an invite to the beta. The same rules as above apply to get in, so make sure you have a copy of Overwatch on PC before dedicating your free time to watching a stream for the drop. If you’re in the beta and want to stream it yourself, go for it! Blizzard does not have any video recording or streaming restrictions for this event.
In the PVP beta for Overwatch 2, there will be some changes to the gameplay you may be familiar with from Overwatch. First and foremost, matches are played out between two teams of five players each, shifting from the traditional 6v6 we’ve been playing for years. A new hero, Sojourn, is joining the roster, which is already a significant change to the meta, not to mention a couple of other characters, Orisa and Doomfist, are receiving complete mechanical reworks. We have details on those reworks, including Doomfist’s role swap to becoming a Tank, that you can read right here.
If you’re lucky enough to recieve an invite one way or another, here are the technical specs Blizzard says Overwatch 2 players will need to play on PC:
PC Hardware Minimum Specifications (targeting 30fps):
- Operating system: Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i3 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8650
- Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 600 series, AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 series
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Storage: 50 GB available hard drive space
PC Hardware Recommended Specifications (targeting 60fps on medium settings):
- Operating system: Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 or AMD Ryzen™ 5
- Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD R9 380
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Storage: 50 GB available hard drive space
Check out the entire FAQ, which features a list of every official Overwatch streamer you can watch on Twitch to earn a beta drop. Overwatch 2 doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but the kickoff to the initial beta is a sign the developers are steadily working in the right direction for a release sometime in the future.
