Overwatch 2 is coming to Xbox Game Pass on Tuesday, September 17, in a move announced just the day before.
Official news blog Xbox Wire typically updates us on what’s coming to Xbox Game Pass at the beginning of each month, and towards the end of that same month.
But Overwatch 2 was left off the announcement in early September, because this is no ordinary Xbox Game Pass drop.
Overwatch 2 comes from Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft in October 2023 for around £52 billion. It could be taken as a sign of how the acquisition may affect the publisher’s ongoing business strategy.
The game is also free-to-play as standard, making its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass a bit of a head-scratcher.
Here’s the deal: if you link the battle.net account you use to play Overwatch 2 with your Xbox Game Pass account you’ll get “exclusive benefits” including cosmetics and in-game currency.
The headline addition brings six “hero” skins - the following:
- Bee Mercy
- Cardboard Reinhardt
- Cleric Lifeweaver
- Cyber Dragon Hanzo
- Street Runner Genji
- Turtleship D.Va
Xbox Game Pass players will also get access to a selected array of cosmetics from the previous three game seasons, on a rotating basis, and a 10 per cent boost to experience points.
Link the accounts before November 11 and you’ll receive 30 Mythic Prisms, worth £20.49.
Overwatch 2 was not initially a big hit with fans of the original game, released in 2016. That was a paid-for release, and was blasted out of existence by its sequel, which arrived in 2022. You can’t play the original anymore.
The sequel still maintains a “mostly negative” review status on Steam. But Blizzard’s efforts are gradually paying off.
Overwatch 2 joined PC gaming platform Steam in August 2023, in its sixth season. After a post-release-buzz drop, the game has steadily grown its player base, with recent weekend peaks of almost 57,000 concurrent players.
Adding Overwatch 2 to Xbox Game Pass may be perceived as a transparent play to help the game compete with multiplayer time sinks like Fortnite, Roblox and Rocket League. Those three are higher on Xbox’s current Most Played list, with Overwatch 2 sitting just outside the top 10.
