Overwatch 2 is coming to Steam on August 10, with more Blizzard games to follow in the future. Blizzard has been hosting its games on its Battle.net platform since the 1990s, which is why the decision to bring Overwatch 2 to Steam is likely to come as a shock to fans.
August 10 is set to be an absolutely massive day for Overwatch 2. On that day, Blizzard is launching Overwatch 2 Season 6 with the special Invasion update that will add a brand-new Support hero, the Flashpoint game mode, and co-op PvE story missions that actually continue the game's story. The unexpected move to bring Overwatch 2 to Steam will go a long way in cementing August 10 as easily one of the most significant days in Overwatch's history since the original version of the hero-shooter launched in 2016.
As for why Blizzard has decided to bring Overwatch 2 to Steam, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra explained, "It's our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and try to exceed their expectations in everything we do. While Battle.net remains a priority for us now and into the future, we've heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games, starting with Overwatch 2 on August 10th. We're happy to work with Valve to make that happen." Valve's Gabe Newell commented on the situation as well, stating, "Gamers and developers are both going to benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam. Gamers will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the effects of having the talented team at Blizzard helping us evolve our supported features and functionality for Overwatch 2." Potential Steam Deck compatibility for Overwatch 2 was not specified in the initial announcement.
When is Overwatch 2 Coming to Steam?
- Overwatch 2 Steam Release Date: Thursday, August 10
While this is the official explanation, one has to wonder if there may be another important factor fueling Blizzard's decision to bring Overwatch 2 to Steam. In its latest earnings report, Activision Blizzard admitted that Overwatch 2 player engagement is down. There are many PC gamers who strictly play on Steam, and so by bringing the game to Steam, it's opening the door to potentially millions of other games to jump into Overwatch 2 and help give the game a truly massive boost come the highly-anticipated August 10 update.
Those who plan on checking out Overwatch 2 on Steam should note that it will support Steam achievements and Steam friends lists. And while gamers won't have to actually play the game through Battle.net, Overwatch 2 on Steam does require a Battle.net account. This is the same across all platforms that Overwatch 2 is currently available on, but it's something that might still make some Steam gamers hesitate.
It will be interesting to see how Steam gamers react to Overwatch 2 and what the PC gaming community at large thinks of Blizzard releasing one of its games on Steam. If the experiment is a success, one has to imagine that the potential for all Blizzard games coming to Steam is on the table, though the company stopped short of revealing other titles from its roster that could make the jump.
Overwatch 2 is available now in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
