The development of Overwatch 2 has seen many ups and downs and sidesteps on its way to being a fully realized sequel. In that time, new information about Overwatch 2 has been slow and caught up in the mire over at Activision Blizzard. However, new reports are claiming that a very important step for the game may soon be happening.The last time anyone has seen new footage from Overwatch 2 was in late 2021 when Overwatch League pros played some matches on some new maps over the league's championship weekend. Since then, news has been sparse, the game was delayed, and it got embroiled in Blizzard's ongoing scandals. However, several members of the Overwatch community are making assertions that a public beta test of Overwatch 2 may soon be on the horizon. These reports are mostly speculation and based on some potentially private information, but the chatter around the news and the timing may add up.One sleuth is making an educated guess that the Overwatch 2 beta could be happening as soon as three weeks from now or sometime before the start of the next season of the Overwatch League. YouTuber WorstSombra has compiled a series of clips from the streams of content creators that were invited to the big meeting between Overwatch content creators and Blizzard back in December. Their video shows the streamers being cagey about any news regarding Overwatch 2. Some streamers even said on camera that something could be happening before March. WorstSombra's video also included a tweet from Blizzard head Mike Ybarra stating that news about Blizzard's games including Overwatch 2 would be coming in a few weeks.
There is another tweet circulating on Twitter and the Overwatch subreddit from FiretheGull, making a guess that a beta version of Overwatch 2 may be coming in three weeks, which puts it at late February/early March. Such a guess would put it in line with what was deduced by WorstSombra, but FiretheGull later stated in their tweet thread that they're not a leaker and could've based that information on what has been found in other places.
The hope for a beta version of Overwatch 2 coming soon is plausible. In the lead-up to Overwatch, Blizzard had a number of betas before the game officially came out in 2016. A counterpoint to all of that information are reports that Overwatch League teams have not yet received their version of the Overwatch 2 beta and the league is set to start in April. There's plenty of time between now, the presumed arrival of the public beta, and the start of Season 5 of the Overwatch League. Blizzard has seemingly not confirmed a beta version of the game for any level of the Overwatch community, so it's all wait and see from here.
Overwatch 2 is in development.