After years of dogged commitment to its own PC launcher, Battle.net, Blizzard is finally caving and releasing a handful of its games on Valve's popular storefront, Steam. And it's starting with Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 will come to Steam on August 10, with a store page for the game already live. This release will coincide with a new content update, Invasion, which includes PvE story missions, a new PvP game mode, two new maps, and a new hero. Users will still need to connect a Battle.net account to the game to play Overwatch 2 via Steam.
In a blog post today, Blizzard explains the reasoning behind its decision to release select games on Steam as driven by a desire to "break down the barriers" between gaming communities.
“It’s our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and try to exceed their expectations in everything we do,” said Blizzard president Mike Ybarra. “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.”
Notably, though, this news comes the same day as Activision-Blizzard's earnings report, during wihch the company admitted Overwatch 2's engagement and player investment has "declined sequentially" over the quarter. It's possible the move to Steam is at least in part a decision taken to breathe new life into the declining playerbase. The game has seen a somewhat mixed reception since release, with players especially upset over the decision to cancel the game's PvE Hero Mode, which was the main distinction between it and the original Overwatch. IGN's launch review of the sequel, however, said that the switch to a 5v5 format "breathes new life" into the shooter.
No word yet on what other Blizzard games will be headed to the Steam launcher in the future, though Blizzard indicates more are on the way. Activision recently made a similar move by returning Call of Duty to Steam after a five-year hiatus from the platform - a move that the company called a "failure" during the recent FTC v. Microsoft trial.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
