Rumors from earlier in the week have now been confirmed.
Blizzard took to YouTube earlier today to announce an open beta for Overwatch beginning May 5th and ending May 9th. If you pre-order the game prior to April 29th, you will be granted an “Early Access” beta key that allows you to access the beta as early as May 3rd, as well as the ability to invite a friend to join you in the beta. The Overwatch open beta will be available on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.
In a bit of a surprising announcement, the Overwatch beta will grant players full access to the games entire roster of 21 characters, as well as every map that will be available at launch. Game director Jeff Kaplan said “we feel like the game shows itself best when you have access to all the content.” Blizzard confirmed that Overwatch progression, including skins, rewards, and levels, will not carry forward to the full game and all progress will be wiped after the closed beta. Blizzard has provided an FAQ with more information about the Overwatch open beta.
The game already has at least one big fan. Larry Hyrb, aka Major Nelson from the Xbox team commented on his chance to participate in the current Overwatch closed beta. Posting to his Twitter account, Hyrb said “I’ve been playing the beta, and it’s a lot of (faaaast) fun”. We know the guys over at Xbox are huge fans of FPS’s and shooters in general, so high praise from one of the most recognized faces in the Xbox brand indicates gamers could be in for a real treat!
The Overwatch open beta will require an Xbox Live Gold membership on the Xbox One, however Playstation Plus will not be required to access the open beta on the Playstation 4. Both will require a subscription for the full retail version of the game, which launches on May 24th for $60 across Xbox One, Playstation, and PC.