Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Another rough game launch for Blizzard.
Overwatch 2 launched on Tuesday this week, but the sequel remains unplayable for many due to massive login queues, server disconnects and cross-progression bugs. Suffice it to say that Blizzard Entertainment is not having the smoothest launch week right now, which is par for the course for the publisher at this point.
Most of the issues that currently plague Overwatch 2 can be tied back to its login servers. On both PC and console (though things seem to be especially bad on PC), players logging into the game are sent directly into login queues with thousands of others trying to play the game. Some players report that they can’t play the game even after getting through the queue, as they’re just sent into a second queue or told to, “try again later,” due to login errors.
Overwatch 2’s game director Aaron Keller updated players yesterday that the game was experiencing stability and server issues following two successive DDoS attacks:
Those who actually manage to get into Overwatch 2 still aren’t safe, as many report being booted out of matches and in-game menus due to an, “Unexpected Server Error,” and being sent back to the login queue. Others report various issues with cross-progression, where cosmetic skins, items and currency earned in the original game have vanished from their accounts in the sequel. Blizzard also tried to get players to tie phone numbers to their accounts to play Overwatch 2, only to roll that decision back earlier today after backlash.
Blizzard addressed these issues in a forum post today, saying that the Overwatch team is taking multiple steps to address server and login problems to get players in the game quicker - but it sounds like the majority of player woes won’t be fully fixed until sometime next week. While launch day went pretty horribly for most however, the sequel already feels like a more stable product today thanks to a few of these fixes. Many players still can’t log in, but at least on consoles, queue times are just a few minutes long and server disconnects are becoming a rarity.
Multiplayer games tend to experience rough launches, and Blizzard games especially follow that pattern to a tee. Even after players get their hands on the actual game, we expect there will be loads of bugs and other problems popping up over the next few weeks for the developer to deal with - such as its atrocious monetisation system, which rewards players with a measly amount of currency per challenge completed.