It’s official: Overwatch 2 will finally launch to the public on 4 October for PC, and Xbox Series X|S. PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. 

And the best part of it all? It will be completely free-to-play. 

This announcement came during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, where Activision-Blizzard dropped a flashy new trailer featuring the major details. A brand-new Tank hero, Junker Queen, was also announced. She is described as “a high-mobility and railgun-wielding former Overwatch captain with cybernetic capabilities.”

Granted, the 4 October launch will actually be for “early access”, and only for the PVP mode. The developer did state that it will be rolling out “frequent and substantial updates” post-launch. Hopefully this would mean that the long-awaited PVE mode would come sooner than later to the game.

“We can’t wait to roll out the beginning of the Overwatch 2 experience on October 4 and introduce an exciting new competitive vision, featuring amazing new content and a reimagining of the iconic heroes, maps, and gameplay that made the original game so compelling,” said Blizzard president Mike Ybarra in a press release.

“This is the beginning of an always-on and always-evolving era for the franchise, and a recommitment to serving players with frequent and substantial updates planned well into the future to keep Overwatch 2 fresh and fun for many years to come.”

Compared to the buy-to-play model that the original Overwatch used, the free-to-play strategy is certainly a welcome one to hopefully bring in returning players, as well as rope in new ones. With the likes of Apex Legends and Valorant being free-to-play at launch, Activision-Blizzard deciding to take a similar route for Overwatch 2 could be the antidote the franchise has sorely needed after a rather stale past few years in the original game.

More details on Overwatch 2, Junker Queen and possibly more gameplay features will be covered at a “reveal event” broadcast taking place on 16 June, so stay tuned!