Blizzard Entertainment has concluded their Overwatch Reveal Event today which focused on debuting two new heroes, skins, maps, and a ton more. Let’s jump into things and go over everything that Blizzard announced during the presentation.
When Does the Overwatch 2 Beta Start? Early Access?
The big question on everyone’s mind is about Beta. Good news, we aren’t going to be waiting very long!
Overwatch 2’s Beta begins on June 28, 2022. We had a smaller, shorter Beta test last month.
Overwatch 2 will be going into Early Access on October 4, 2022 and is when Season 1 begins.
Season 2 begins on December 6, 2022. Seasons are expected to last around 9 weeks.
Blizzard is going to be trying to get all players that sign-up for the Beta in by July 14, 2022.
You can also purchase an “Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack” to get immediate access on June 28. The full Beta FAQ can be found here.
How Much is Overwatch 2 Going to Cost?
Overwatch 2 is going to be Free to Play! Blizzard will be monetizing the game through cosmetics in the in-game store and season passes.
This is great news for players that were original skeptical about paying for the game again.
How Do I Get Skins in Overwatch 2?
Everything players obtained during the original Overwatch comes with them to Overwatch 2. We’re no longer going to have loot boxes though!
Loot boxes have been removed in favor of placing cosmetics directly in the shop, those familiar with Fortnite will know this model well, with a rotating set of cosmetics each day. You will also be able to obtain skins through their Battle Pass.
Overwatch 2 Founder’s Pack?
It gets even better! If you bought the original Overwatch, Blizzard is giving you access to a Founder’s Pack. This is going to come with an exclusive icon, two Epic-tier skins (General Doomfist & Jester Sombra), and a “surprise gift”.
To be eligible for the Founder’s Pack, you must purchase the original Overwatch game prior to June 23, 2022.
Everything Else in the Overwatch 2 Reveal Event Presentation
With the Beta, Free to Play, and Skin bits out of the way, let’s get a recap on that presentation.
Overwatch 2 is a live service game that will feature a new Season every 9 weeks, with new content coming out in each cycle.
Heroes have received reworks.
New maps and modes will be available.
There is full cross-progression between different platforms.
The PvE part of Overwatch 2 is going to be coming out in 2023.
The competitive experience is going to be new, and will let players feel a sense of progression.
Moving to a 5v5 format, down from 6v6 in Overwatch, will let players make a larger impact in their games.
Season 1
Three new Heroes – Sojourn, Junker Queen, & Unannounced Support Hero.
Six new Maps.
One new Game Mode.
30+ New Skins.
Overwatch 2’s Junker Queen
Season 2
One new Tank Hero.
One new Map.
Unique Mythic Skin.
30+ New Skins.
Future Seasons
We can expect to see more Heroes, Maps, and Modes.
Blizzard is expecting to a release a new hero every other season.
With a 9 week cycle, we should see 2 or 3 new Heroes each year.
Seasons that don’t have a new Hero will feature new Maps and Game Modes instead.
Mythic Skins in Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 is going to feature new skins that have the colors affect decals and weapons.
Weapon Charms in Overwatch 2
We’re also getting weapon charms, a cosmetic that has become quite common place over the past few years with titles like Apex Legends, Valorant, and PUBG making heavy-use of them.
Watch the Overwatch 2 Reveal Event
You can watch the full event on YouTube down below.
We’re back with the last segment of today’s Summer Game Fest line-up, the PC Gaming Show! We’re going to be seeing new gameplay, trailers, developer interviews, and more! Here’s everything you need to know.
The show starts at 3:30 PM Eastern, considering our article going live early your waiting room. Refresh for updates!
Tactical Breach Wizards is a small-scale, turn-based tactics game where you play a team of wizards in modern-day tactical gear, breaching and clearing rooms full of armed hostiles by making clever use of interesting spells. It’s still in early development, so everything about it might change!
Rethink human’s dominion in The Invincible: a story-driven adventure set in a hard sci-fi world by Stanisław Lem. Discover planet Regis III as scientist Yasna, use atompunk tools looking for a missing crew and face unforeseen threats. Make choices in a philosophical story that’s driven by science.
Endless Dungeon is a Rogue-lite Tactical Action game, set in the award-winning Endless universe. Recruit a team of shipwrecked heroes, plunge into a long-abandoned space station, and protect your crystal against never-ending waves of monsters… or die trying, get reloaded, and try again.
Make your mark on Formula 1 in the officially licensed F1 Manager 2022. Be the boss of your chosen constructor and pick from a roster of 2022 drivers and staff.
Go undercover as the world’s greatest spies in DECEIVE INC., a tense multiplayer game of subterfuge, deduction, and ingenuity set in the groovy world of international espionage. Disguise as anyone, deploy an arsenal of high-tech gadgets or neutralize the competition. As long as you extract with the objective, no trick is too dirty when you work for DECEIVE INC.
To survive on a lonely planet, Jan creates alternate versions of himself – the alters. Each alter’s personality is shaped by Jan’s various life paths. The Alters begs a simple question surrounding life-changing moments and the decisions people make: What if…?
New updates coming with new mechanics, deeper quest requirements
Full release is coming Fall 2022.
Animal Royale
It’s a fight for furvival! Super Animal Royale is a 64-player, frenetic, top-down 2D battle royale where murderous animals fight tooth, claw, and machine gun across an abandoned safari park.
Season 4!
This weekend they a double XP event running through June 14.
Nitro Kid is a roguelike deckbuilder set in the neon ‘80s. Build your deck of cyber kung-fu moves, use card combos and fight through the floors of INFINITY tower. Featuring 30+ Synthwave tracks composed exclusively for the game.
Begin your journey to become a mighty samurai mage! In a blend of adventure, strategy and deckbuilding gameplay, choose how you will follow the way of the Mahoken. Explore the Celestial Islands, build your deck, battle challenging demons, and protect the land from the forces of corruption.
Their goal is to restart the series from a technology point of view, and they’ve done that with Arma Reforger.
A massive set of new tools that they’ve been building for 5 years.
More accessible modding for players to experiment with.
Their new engine lets GPUs do more of the computing to improve performance.
Dune: Spice Wars
A 4X real-time strategy game from the developers of the critically acclaimed Northgard. Set in Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking Dune universe, you must lead your faction and battle for control and dominance over the harsh desert planet of Arrakis.
Welcome to Eden. A bird wakes up a person from hiberation.
Great Houses of Calederia
Great Houses of Calderia is a modern generational Grand Strategy Game set in the fantastic land of Calderia inspired by the Renaissance. Build your family’s legacy of power and rise in the ranks of the Great Houses of Calderia!
A first-person fight to the death in the depths of space!
System Shock is the fully fledged remake of the ground breaking original from 1994, combining cult gameplay with all-new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface and all-new sounds & music; it even has the original voice actor of SHODAN, one of gaming’s most iconic villains. Witness the rebirth of one of the greatest and most influential games ever created.
The latest trailer for Immortality, a narrative FMV game from Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story.
Releases July 26 on Game Pass, Steam, and GOG.
Nivalis
Grow your business, manage restaurants and nightclubs, make friends and enemies, buy and decorate apartments, go fishing and maybe even find love in Nivalis, the city that stretches from the ocean to the clouds.
Demonschool is a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action. Defeat big weirdos in between the human and demon worlds as Faye and her misfit companions, while navigating university life on a mysterious island.
A retro FPS inspired by classic 90s console shooters. Explore new locales, accomplish varied objectives and fight against state-of-the-art 1997 enemy AI. Enter a world of espionage and action.
Deliver Us Mars is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure taking you on a suspense-fuelled, high-stakes mission to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward.
Stormgate
2 Years ago Frost Giant starts to work on Stormgate.
It takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting where fantasy and science fiction collide.
The new extinction of humanity happens hundreds of years in the future.
The “Infernal Host” is a playable alien race who want to turn Earth into their own.
They want to provide different experiences for different kinds of players.
Solo and Co-op campaign missions will be available, with new content coming out regularly.
They are also creating a competitive experience that will include league play and tournaments inside the game itself.
1v1 and 3v3 will be available for PVP.
No pay to win, no NFTs, the game will be free to play though.
Stormgate’s team is passionate about mods. They have a custom editor they are working on and they are working on ways for players to share mods with each other.
Build and expand your very own settlements in high mountains! Carefully plan production chains and satisfy various needs of your three-caste society while dealing with mountain hazards such as weather breakdowns and avalanches. Are you skilled enough to make your town thrive?
A challenging exploration and survival adventure, set in the dying world of Dragons. Only those who harness the power of Frozen Flame have the means to survive the harsh conditions of the realm and able to muster the strength to cleanse it for good.
Paradox Development Studio invites you to build your ideal society in the tumult of the exciting and transformative 19th century. Balance the competing interests in your society and earn your place in the sun in Victoria 3, one of the most anticipated games in Paradox’s history.
Trapped in a dark, Victorian city consumed by an ancient curse, you must plan your survival and daring escape using nothing but stealth, an arsenal of eccentric weapons, and your wit in this haunting adventure inspired by the immersive sims and survival horror greats of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Norland is a medieval kingdom sim that generates stories. Manage your noble family and face with class society, crime, slave revolts, religious conflict, economic issues, personal relations, treachery, secret murders, and spectacular battles.
Hello and welcome to Backfirewall_, a first-person tragicomic adventure set inside a smartphone. You are the update assistant. Solve wacky puzzles to counter the update and save the previous operating system from deletion. The fate of the System is in your hands!
Humans live on a hostile planet. In this survival city-building game, develop your city, face natural disasters, make the right choices. Explore this environment-changing world while keeping your people happy despite extreme weather conditions.
During Microsoft’s annual Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase this year, Marc Merrill, Co-founder and President of Riot Games, unveiled a huge announcement for their titles – they’re joining Xbox Game Pass!
Across all of Riot’s current titles, “and more”, Xbox Game Pass will be providing huge value for players this Winter, through primarily granting access to content that would normally be paid.
I can’t possibly hold all those unlocks!
Free League of Legends Champions? Sign Me Up!
League of Legends is the big one here, with all 160 currently released champions becoming free to use if you have Xbox Game Pass. The MOBA has been difficult to get into in more recent years with the ever-growing roster of characters to play that are locked behind a length grind of “Blue Essence”, or busting out your wallet. When new champions come out, they do so at 975 “Riot Points”, the premium currency players can obtain through paid purchases or promotions like the current one run by Amazon Gaming. With 1380 Riot Points being $10 USD, this effectively makes a new Champion in the game cost around $7 USD. Of course, that’s not the full story, as older Champions are cheaper than that, and there are a couple of bundles available.
Not that this is a large problem for current players, as those that play the game should be able to earn new Champions as they come out with their saved up Blue Essence from regularly playing the game, in part due to a slower release cadence than in the earlier days of the game, but this becomes a huge pain point for newer players.
Unlocking everything for free though if you have an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, provides next-level value for anyone that has wanted to try the game. Now, if only the community wasn’t so toxic in-game.
That’s not the only game getting free stuff though from the Game Pass deal, like we said before, everything from Riot is getting love.
Everything First-Party Gets Game Pass Love
Everything that Riot creates in-house is going to be benefiting from Game Pass.
Legends of Runeterra, their card game, will provide the entire base set of cards.
Wild Rift, their mobile and soon console version of League of Legends, will provide their Champion roster.
Valorant players will see all Agent characters available.
Teamfight Tactics gets some “Little Legends” unlocked from the partnership.
These unlocks will also apply to players on mobile, which shows a deeper integration for Xbox to everywhere that people are playing games. We’ve certainly got nothing against that!
And More?
One of the more intriguing aspects about this is though is the “and more” portion of their promotional image. This could be a callout to the fact that Wild Rift will eventually be making its way to consoles, after Riot said we’d get no updates on that delay this year, or perhaps we’ll be seeing integration with new titles Riot has in the works, like Project L, their fighting game that we got to see a bit of last year during RiotX Arcane.
Though, that could also be the fact that “Players will also receive bonus experience across select titles” according to the official posting on Xbox Wire.
So, are you excited about Riot making its way over to Game Pass?
Riot Games is coming to Xbox Game Pass in Winter 2022.
Summer Game Fest has returned and with it comes plenty of video game announcements! Everything is going to kickoff today, June 9, (2 PM Eastern, 8 PM CEST) with one big show that is expected to last around 90 minutes. We’ve been told it will feature a couple of new game announcements, and the usual surprises, so you won’t want to miss out! If you aren’t able to watch it though, we’ll be covering all the fun here right on Out of Games.
You can catch all the action live on their official channels on:
After the show kicks off the event, we’ve got iam8bit and Double Fine Productions going live with their own show titled “Day of the Devs” which is a big indie showcase. The stream will be on the same channels listed above.
We’ve also got, later in the day, Devolver Digital with their usual quirky stream that’ll feature their own game announcements. You can catch that on TwitchGaming starting at 6 PM Eastern (Midnight CEST, June 10)
We can’t wait to see what Summer Game Fest brings this year. You can check out the official site for a full schedule of events and be sure to keep your eyes on Out of Games (on Twitter too).
