Overwatch crossover play is finally a reality, five years after the game’s release. Unfortunately, there is no cross progression, so keep that in mind when making plans to team up with friends.
The Overwatch crossplay beta was announced today and will be available “soon.” The crossplay beta is powered by the latest Battle.net update, which allows players around the world to join in as their favorite Overwatch heroes, no matter what platform they are on, be it PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One. , Xbox Series X or Nintendo Switch. Competitive games will not be part of traditional crossover play; instead, players will be divided into groups of consoles and PCs.
The advent of cross-play is likely part of the run-up to Blizzard’s Overwatch 2, which has new cooperative PvE modes that would benefit from cross-play capabilities. Plus, with new PvP game modes like Push, it’ll be nice to join in the fun with players from all platforms.
To participate in the crossplay beta, you will need to create a Battle.net account and link your appropriate console (PC players will already have a Battle.net account). To do so, create your free account, select ‘Account Settings’ from the drop-down menu, then ‘Connections’ and connect your console. You can find your friends through their Battle.net account name.
Anyone who opens an account before December 31, 2021 will receive a free loot box of gold to celebrate the launch of the Overwatch crossplay beta. You’ll get the loot box on whatever system you play Overwatch on, so if you’re like me and back and forth between PC and Xbox Series S, you’ll get two loot boxes for your efforts. PC players will be grouped with other PC players regardless of their input method, and the console’s aim assist will be disabled for non-competitive matches when grouped with a PC player. If none of the cross-play capabilities appeal to you, you can disable cross-play through the Overwatch game menu if you’re on the console. However, PC gamers cannot opt out of crossover play.
Overwatch seems to be taking a very specific approach to allowing players to team up on various platforms. The lack of cross progression is disappointing, not to mention the lack of opt-out options for PC players, but at least the competitive matches will remain even when splitting into two different groups. You can find more details in The newly minted Overwatch crossover play FAQs.
