Overwatch’s launch day has arrived; here’s our giant roundup

By
Bree Royce
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115
Perhaps the bank should be re-evaluated.

Blizzard’s Overwatch, the shooty remains of what was once destined to be MMORPG Project Titan, formally launches tonight at midnight — if you’re in London, anyway. For those of us here in the US, we’re looking at go-times of 7 p.m. EDT at Massively OP’s HQ in Philly to 4 p.m. PDT over on the west coast where Blizzard is. If you’ve already preordered, you should probably go make sure you’re all downloaded and patched up because it’s launch day and nothing can go wrong. Right?

Let’s round up some cool Overwatch stories in the meantime!

The game isn’t out yet and there’s already a clone because of course there is. MMO Culture reports that a Chinese clone called Legend of Titan was shamelessly revealed for mobile at a con earlier this month.

Here’s a heartwarmer: The daughter of an Overwatch fan drew up a sketch of her own proposed Overwatch character, Birst, and her dad sent it off to Blizz for feedback… but epic Blizz artist Roman Kenney turned it into a real drawing. So Blizz, when can we play this new character?

This past Sunday, Coca-Cola got into the Overwatch spirit with a Launch Celebration event at selected Cinemark theaters (that were utterly sold out, mind you) with cinematics, panel videos, and collectibles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJxpa6H1050

More hype! Here’s a shot from @RuzgofDi of one of the massive Overwatch dolls — I mean, action figures — that sprung up this weekend in a few big cities (Genji is in Paris and Pharah is in Busan, reports Blizzard Watch). Me, I love how they put Tracer outside a Sephora.

And finally, the game’s last animated short is out — this one’s called Hero and focuses on the vigilante known as Soldier: 76.

Enjoy the launch festivities, everyone!

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Overwatch spawns a mysterious ARG teasing Sombra - Overwatch fans have been chasing clues this month in what appears to be a Blizzard-backed viral ARG revolving around Sombra, the character teased earlier this month. The Overwatch forums played host to a big clue: the posting…
Gamescom 2016: Overwatch’s Last Bastion short - Live at Gamescom today, Blizzard pushed out another animated short for Overwatch as promised. Called The Last Bastion, it covers... well... Bastion. Or uncovers him, as the case may be. Watch on to see what we mean.…
Overwatch bans public cheater mid-stream - Here's your dose of sweet, sweet justice for the day. A Korean streamer was using an aimbot in an Overwatch match while performing for the internet crowd when Blizzard's GMs caught wise to his act and banned…
Blizzard holds firm on Overwatch’s Olympic promotion - Players who want to collect all of Overwatch's limited-time Olympic goodies will have to deal with disappointment. Blizzard said that it will be staying the course on its Summer Games promotion in which players only have through…
Overwatch is heading to the Olympics in spirit - If you maintain some hope of wowing audiences worldwide with your skills at playing Overwatch, we're sad to inform you that playing the game is still not considered an Olympic event. You can, however, get some…
Overwatch banwave crashes into cheaters - For some of Overwatch's cheaters, August 1st could be the date that lives in infamy. From the sound of it, it looks like Blizzard triggered a banwave today that's reaching out far and wide to wash out…
Ana gets some big buffs with the newest Overwatch patch - Ana has gotten just a little bit more effective in Overwatch with the game's most recent patch. While she was considered fun, her healing/damaging shots weren't making her as effective as she should have been. So…
Blizzard is quietly fighting Overwatch toxicity - If you've started to notice that the community in Overwatch has started to turn vicious in the past few weeks, you're not alone. In an interview last week, Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan acknowledged that the longer…
Overwatch’s next hero is revealed as Ana - If you've been waiting until San Diego Comic-Con to find out the identity of Overwatch's next hero, you're in luck, because the news has gone out early. The next hero is Ana, also known to lore…
Overwatch tweet teases a new addition to the roster - One of the central elements of Overwatch is the fact that it's built around the careful, balanced interplay between its 21 characters. Naturally, players want to know when the 22nd character will be added. A new…
Blizzard sues Bossland again, this time for Overwatch cheat - Remember Bossland GmbH? It's the German company that makes bots like World of Warcraft's HonorBuddy for Blizzard's games, which Blizz has ardently argued violates its copyrights and costs Blizzard exorbitant amounts of money to fight in-game…
Battle Bards Episode 77: Spirit of Adventure 2 - Steff has decreed the return of spirit of adventure -- and so it shall be! In the second part of this theme, the Battle Bards explore adventurous and inspirational MMO tunes. Are we out of ideas…
Overwatch’s competitive play patch hits PC today - Blizzard is pushing out Overwatch's competitive play patch tonight -- but only on PC. Console players on PS4 and Xbox one will see the update next week. "We know this isn’t an ideal way to deliver…
Overwatch is tearing it up in Korea - We know that Overwatch has been more than the talk of the town, as the game almost effortlessly shot past 10 million units sold since its launch. What might not be common knowledge is that this…
Overwatch surpasses 10 million players - Blizzard just announced via Twitter that Overwatch has surpassed 10 million players -- that's 10 million boxes sold, at least half of them to my guild. Send help; I've lost them to another Blizz game! The…
Blizzard and Facebook team up for streaming - Blizzard's just announced a new partnership with Facebook that will allow players to livestream their games on the social media platform and give Facebook some much-needed street cred amongst core gamers. Says the press release, "Adding…
Overwatch racks up 7M players, bans 1500 of them - It's been a little over a week since Overwatch launched, and in that short time Blizzard's new team shooter has become a bonafide success in the market. As of yesterday, Overwatch passed its seven millionth player, which represents…
Heroes of the Storm turns one year old today - Overwatch may be the darling of Blizzard's eye right now, but a year ago it was all about the studio's foray into MOBA gaming. That's right: Today marks the first anniversary of Heroes of the Storm,…
Someone is already level 100 in Overwatch - Overwatch player FenderOverwatch has successfully reached the level 100 cap on Tuesday, just a week since its formal launch. You can all give up now. The feat took him 92 hours over the course of that week,…
Blizzard cracks down on Overwatch porn - Surprising exactly no one familiar with Overwatch's art style, people are already making porn of it. Rule #34, guys. PCGamesN ran the numbers and found that Tracer is the chief target, which again won't surprise anyone…
Overwatch open beta is live until May 9th - Tired of just watching the people who get to shoot their way through Overwatch in its more selective test phases? You don't have to just watch any longer. The game's open beta starts today and runs…
Overwatch’s Winston: Are you with us? - Overwatch's Winston should probably not quit his day job, but you gotta love him anyway. Blizzard has a new Overwatch trailer out today featuring our favorite gorilla badass making a passionate plea for the return of…
Blizzard begins distributing Overwatch’s digital goodies - If you haven't noticed, Blizzard sure does love to cross-promote its games through special edition extras. Encouraging players to explore the entire Blizzard ecosystem is a sound strategy to keep the money somewhere in the studio's…
Heroes of the Storm previews Tracer’s mechanics - Cheers, Heroes of the Storm fans, the cavalry's nearly here. Tracer is dropping into the game for Overwatch pre-orders on April 19th, and a brief new video highlights how the shooter's erstwhile mascot will play once…
Overwatch prepares expanded media universe - As if there isn't already enough excitement over the fact that Overwatch will be launching in a little over two months, Blizzard revealed yesterday some of its plans for an expanded media universe featuring the new…
Overwatch’s beta revs back up next week - It's been a long while since fans have been able to duke it out in Overwatch's beta. The game's test went offline on December 10th and remained steadfastly so throughout the holidays and first month of…
Blizzard delays the return of Overwatch’s beta to February - Blizzard has delayed the return of Overwatch's beta, according to a post on the official forums today. Game Director Jeff Kaplan says that the tentatively planned resumption date of mid-to-late January isn't happening because the team…
Massively OP’s guide to choosing an online ARPG - Bored of MMOs, despondent about the industry, or simply looking for something a little different? Turning to something similar to MMOs, yet offering a new experience, is what's attracted many people to online action RPGs. MMOARPGs, or…
Overwatch beta is taking off for winter break - Everyone needs a break sometimes. It's a chance to step back, examine what's going on, take a few deep breaths, all of that good stuff. Overwatch's closed beta also needs a break, and is going offline…
Overwatch will be on consoles as well as PC - Overwatch will be playable from the living room couch as well as at a desk, as word has leaked out that Blizzard's team shooter is heading to consoles as well as the PC. GameStop said that…
Blizzard secures rights to Overwatch’s name - Overwatch's tagline is, "The world needs heroes." If we might amend that motto in light of a recent story, it should add "...but no more lawsuits, please." Blizzard recently finished up a legal fight to secure the…
Overwatch knocks down the closed beta door - Heroes, suit up: Overwatch's closed beta test for both North America and Europe is now live. While the test for the superhero-themed multiplayer shooter has commenced, Blizzard said that it is still inviting players in waves, which…
Overwatch’s closed beta starts tomorrow - Good news for Blizzard fans: Players might get a shot of seeing the studio's newest game a little sooner than expected, as Overwatch is going into closed beta testing tomorrow. "We were able to complete setup…
Overwatch’s beta starts on October 27 - Blizzard has announced that Overwatch's beta will begin on October 27th. The company is dividing testers into two groups: a closed beta crew and a beta test weekend group. The former will comprise the "core" testing…
Overwatch debuts on Twitch this week - Curious about Overwatch? If so, you'll probably want to watch Blizzard's Twitch channel on Thursday, October 15th. The studio will air 90 minutes of unedited real-time gameplay footage from its upcoming team shooter. The announcement post…
Perfect Ten: Ten MMO futures that never were - One of the things I spend a lot of time thinking about is Operation Unthinkable. For those of you who don't feel like clicking the link, it was essentially Winston Churchill's plan to start World War…
Overwatch unveils the mysterious Soldier: 76 - The big lore dump for Overwatch yesterday did not come from nowhere. Hot on the heels of that article connecting the mysterious Soldier: 76 to the supposed demise of strike commander Jack Morrison, a new hero has been…
See a pair of high-octane Overwatch matches - Got a few minutes? Then we've got some action eye candy for you, straight from the land of Overwatch. Blizzard recently released two videos of in-game matches featuring bespectacled gorilla Winston and lethal sniper Widowmaker. These…
Overwatch shows off the heights of Pharah’s abilities - Overwatch's Pharah is a pretty straightforward character in terms of play philosophy. She has a rocket launcher, jump jets, and a wrist rocket to break down barriers. Nothing super difficult to understand. But seeing her in…
Check out Overwatch’s Reinhardt gameplay video - If Overwatch were a tabletop RPG, Reinhardt is the guy who didn't bother listening to the setting information and just made a knight with a huge hammer. Still, it's hard not to like a guy who…
See two of Overwatch’s superheroes in action - Which Overwatch character are you going to pick when you get into the beta? That's a hard call to make before you can actually get in and sample each of them, although preview videos are the…
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