It’s been a long time coming but Overwatch 2 is not finally upon us, set to launch on October 4. When the game launches, Overwatch servers shutdown, too, marking the end of an era for one of gaming’s all-time best shooters. Now’s the time to return to the OG game, make the connection with your Battle.net account for cross-progression, and pre-download the game ahead of the Overwatch 2 release time.
The pre-download schedule for Overwatch 2 varies depending on platform, your Overwatch status, and what you’re purchased.
Overwatch 2 PC Pre-load
If you played Overwatch on PC at any time, bought the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack, you can preload Overwatch 2 from Friday, September 30 at 1:30pm PT.
That’s approx. 7:30am Sydney time on Saturday, October 1, and 10:30pm on Friday, September 30 for London.
The PC download size of Overwatch 2 is expected to be north of 50 GB.
If you’ve never played Overwatch, you won’t be able to preload: you can’t download the game until the second it launches.
Overwatch 2 Console Pre-load
For Overwatch players on any console, you won’t be able to pre-load the game until actual launch day, with times varying depending on your location in the world. This means console players in Australia could well be playing Overwatch 2 long before people in New York, Los Angeles, and London.
The game is set to launch at 12pm PT Oct 4, with preload available from 9am that morning, so we should expect similar time windows on the same day for other time zones.
The console version of Overwatch 2 is expected to clock in in at least 30 GB.
As with PC, preload for Overwatch 2 won’t be available on console for those that never played Overwatch.
Overwatch 2 release time
The expectation is that the game launches at 12pm PT on October 4.
