Overwatch Releasing on May 24th

The long-awaited release of Blizzard Entertainment’s newest intellectual property has been given a date.

After its announcement at BlizzCon 2014, Blizzard Entertainment’s new first person shooter Overwatch has finally been given a definite release date: May 24th, 2016. Blizzard simultaneously announced that the game will also enter its open beta testing phase on May 3rd, available to those that pre-order any edition of the game. Editions available for pre-order include: the base edition, which includes the core game and 21 unlocked characters, the Origins Edition, which includes five “Origin” skins and digital bonuses usable in Blizzard’s other titles, and finally the Collector’s Edition, which includes everything in the Origins Edition plus a visual sourcebook, a copy of the game’s soundtrack, and a 12.8-inch tall statue of the character Soldier: 76.

No details on a possible official Overwatch world championship or similar tournament system were included in the release date announcement, though some esports organizations already have Overwatch teams, formed during the closed beta phase. Such organizations include G2.Kinguin, Cloud 9, and EnVyUs – proving that there is a significant amount of initial mainstream interest in Overwatch esports. When the game finally releases on May 24th, this interest will likely go up quite a bit.

Overwatch will be available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, with all three versions releasing simultaneously on May 24th. Blizzard has stated in the past that cross-platform play will not be available for the game due to concerns regarding a perceived advantage for PC players, presumably due to the availability of mice and keyboards as input devices on that version – unlike the console versions which will make use of their respective gamepads. However, Overwatch is notable for being the first Blizzard title with this much console support, in contrast to their older IPs which were developed mainly for the PC – with some games later ported to consoles with modified gameplay and/or interfaces. This kind of accessibility will help the game’s fledgling competitive scene thrive across different communities.

Stay tuned to OverwatchBetting.com for any news and developments on the budding Overwatch betting industry!