Overwatch is free-to-play from Aug. 23 to 27. Haven’t played Overwatch yet? That means you can boot it up for free right now. The free weekend event kicked off earlier today.
All 28 Overwatch heroes and 18 maps are available for free weekend players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Quick Play, custom games, and the Arcade are all open, but Competitive Play is still limited to paid players level 25 or higher. Throughout the entire free period, players will have the same access to all of Overwatch’s cosmetics, which are unlockable in Blizzard first-person shooter. Any progress made—including cosmetics and loot—will stay with an account, should a player choose to buy the game using the same Blizzard account.
Related: Overwatch is getting a new control map set in Busan, South Korea, and it’s live on the PTR now
Overwatch’s Summer Games event is ongoing, with a whole bunch of new skins and cosmetics to unlock. Fan-favorite game mode Lúcioball is also a feature of the seasonal event as an exclusive Arcade brawl. What we’re trying to say is, there’s really no better time to try out Overwatch.
Blizzard is also offering a sale on Overwatch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One throughout the course of the weekend. Overwatch will be 50 percent off until Aug. 27. The free weekend is scheduled to end right at midnight on Aug. 27, so for players on central or eastern time, you’ll have a few extra hours into Aug. 28 to play the game for free.
Should players choose to buy Overwatch over the free weekend, they’ll also unlock access to the game’s test server, which is hosting a new control map set in Busan, South Korea. The new map, and an animated short featuring tank hero D.Va, was revealed during a South Korean fan festival held earlier this week.
