‘Overwatch’ Free Weekend Coming To PC, PlayStation 4, And Xbox One Next Week
Another free weekend is coming for players that want to try out Overwatch without buying it first. Next week, anyone can pick up and play the first-person shooter for nearly four days absolutely free. This free weekend will be available on all platforms that Overwatch is featured on including PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The free Overwatch period will begin on November 18 and conclude on November 21 stretching over the entire weekend. Players on PC will need to have a Battle.net account in good standing to participate while PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will need their platform’s premium subscription active. PlayStation 4 players will need an active PlayStation Plus account and Xbox One players will need an active Xbox Live subscription in order to play according to the official site.
“The free period will begin on November 18 at 11 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC) and end on November 21 at 4:00 p.m. PT (23:00 UTC) in all gameplay regions.”
Players on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One will be able to download the Overwatch client unique to their platform. PC players need to download and install the Battle.net client before the game client can be downloaded. PlayStation 4 players will need to search “Overwatch Free Weekend” in the PlayStation Store to locate the free client on their console. Xbox One players will need to navigate to the Overwatch page in the Xbox One Store and select “Free Trial.” According to the Overwatch website, these downloads will be available beforehand; however, the date listed reflects the previous free weekend Blizzard Entertainment held in September.
During the free weekend, Overwatch players will be able to play any of the game’s current 22 heroes over 13 maps and four modes. Free players will have access to everything the game has to offer including Quick Play, Custom Games, Play vs. AI, and Weekly Brawls. They will even be able to gain experience and earn loot boxes during the free period.
Any progress made during the free weekend will carry over to a full purchase of the game if a player decides to buy Overwatch. Trophies and achievements are disabled during the weekend, but players will keep their statistics and other in-game accomplishments if upgrading the free version to a client purchase.
“Any progression you earn, including levels as well as skins and other items you get from Loot Boxes, will carry over to the full game if you purchase Overwatch: Origins Edition on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 or any version of Overwatch on PC—just be sure you purchase the game on the same console account you played on during this free weekend.”
As many existing players might notice, the upcoming free weekend includes 22 heroes, meaning the upcoming Sombra hero will still not be available at the time of the event weekend. Other new features like the Arcade and the new Antarctica map will also remain in testing when the free weekend begins. For more information on what is coming to Overwatch, check out the game’s blog featuring tentative patch notes for the imminent update.
*BOOP* pic.twitter.com/lfck24qaKs
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) November 6, 2016
As the second hero to be introduced after the game’s release, Sombra’s reveal was highly anticipated over a multi-month alternate reality game where several clues unlocked numerous countdowns until the character was finally unveiled at BlizzCon. The events of the ARG really began in June, and in October an image of Sombra leaked as reported by the Inquistir. Although she is officially revealed, Sombra is still not available to play on the live servers.
As an interview on Kotaku pointed out, Blizzard Entertainment is aware that the ARG’s long build-up to BlizzCon and multiple countdowns that led to more countdowns was not exactly enjoyable for many fans. As the team’s first ARG, feedback on the event is welcome to improve any subsequent Overwatch alternate reality games.
[Featured Image by Blizzard Entertainment]
