Blizzard has announced that it will be taking down Overwatch 2's servers again in a surprise maintenance. This follows a very challenging launch for Overwatch 2 that's seen the multiplayer team shooter struggle with several technical issues, as well as at least two DDOS attacks on its servers. Despite hopes that extended maintenance on Thursday could dramatically improve Overwatch 2's problems, they've continued through Friday and Blizzard is having to take the servers down again.Overwatch 2 players are likely deeply familiar with the ongoing problems at this point in time. Not only are there extended queues that can last hours simply to log into Overwatch 2, but the queues are also prone to disruption leaving players waiting without movement unaware. There are also issues with Overwatch 2's cross-platform account mergers, digital purchases and unlocks not appearing, matchmaking disconnects, and other serious technical problems. Suffice to say, there's work to be done.Blizzard will be taking Overwatch 2's servers down starting at 6:00 PM PT/9:00 PM ET and the servers will remain offline for an estimated 60 minutes. The length of downtime may be shorter or longer than estimated. No explanation for the downtime has been provided yet and the warning was released just two hours prior to the servers going down. A post from Blizzard earlier on Thursday did provide a lengthy list of areas where Overwatch 2 still needs improvement, however.
It could be notable that yesterday's Overwatch 2 maintenance was referred to as "scheduled" by Blizzard customer service representatives, while today's maintenance announcement makes no such claim. That could mean Blizzard has discovered an emergency issue that needs to be addressed immediately, or it may simply have been a last-minute decision to issue fixes Friday evening before the weekend begins.
As for why Blizzard is choosing to perform server maintenance on Overwatch 2 during what would be peak hours in North America, there are some likely explanations. First and foremost, it likely fits its development schedule. It's better to issue an update late and allow developers to go home or get some sleep, or to see if there are further issues before it's suddenly midnight. Second, Blizzard may be prioritizing peak play hours in other regions like Europe and Japan over North America. At the very least, it can be assumed this isn't Blizzard's optimal schedule for maintenance.
Whatever the reason is for Overwatch 2's maintenance, be it server stability or fixes, the result means that players will have to take an hour off from playing tonight. That's plenty of time to eat, take a shower, get some exercise in, or relax a bit. Alternatively, it's an opportunity to check Overwatch 2's subreddit and share the pain of being a fan with others. Blizzard will hopefully have Overwatch 2's issues worked out soon and then everyone can enjoy the game without any added frustrations.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
