Overwatch

Experience the story of Overwatch 2 from a multiple points of view in this star-studded short story collection, featuring eight tales from award-winning and bestselling authors.

As Null Sector’s global assault brings the world to its knees, millions of voices cry out amid the devastation . . . and heroes around the world are answering the call.

• Lyndsay Ely brings heartrending clarity to Ashe and B.O.B.’s pre-Crisis history.
• As Null Sector drop pods rain down on Tokyo, Hanzo hears the ghost of his father—and meets with a familiar face—in an electrifying tale by E.C. Myers.
• Corinne Duyvis and Sangu Mandanna trace Symmetra’s travels abroad to retrieve a Vishkar asset . . . and an old friend.
• Mohale Mashigo lends fresh perspective to Ana and Jack’s relationship as they weave through a broken Istanbul to meet with an informant, one who claims to have knowledge of what brought down Overwatch all those years ago.

These stories and more illuminate the darkest corners of the Null Sector chaos, in the crucible where choices are made and heroes are forged. From the streets of Numbani to the alleys of Junkertown, the highest floors of Lijiang Tower to the stars themselves, don’t miss this exploration of the battles fought all around the globe. This perfect companion read to Overwatch 2’s main story includes tales from award-winning, bestselling science fiction and fantasy authors as well as Blizzard’s stellar narrative designers and cinematic writers. Complete with illustration by Kevin Hong, Hannah Templer, and more, this incredible anthology brings new focus to Overwatch’s universe, and shows that—even in its most uncertain times—the future is still worth fighting for.

An unknown horror lurks beneath the ruins of Ecopoint: Antarctica. It will be up to you to solve the mystery of...Cosmic Crisis! Starting today with Overwatch 2 – Season 9: Champions, this new 4-player Co-op event explores a non-canon story that will test your loyalty to your teammates. Read on to learn more about Cosmic Crisis, and the new rewards and ways to play that will keep you coming back to this limited-time event.

Escape or Embrace the Darkness

In the wake of a crash landing, join forces with three unlikely allies to repair your ship, and escape a ruined Ecopoint: Antarctica. Monstrous null sector units have overrun the station, and an ancient threat lurks in the shadows. As you fight back these eldritch horrors, you must stay strong to resist the call of the Ravager.

Cosmic Crisis has unique co-op objectives that change between playthroughs, and each game presents one player with a choice that will determine the fate of your team. Will you work together to escape the Ravager, or will you give into temptation and be consumed by darkness?

New Ways to Play Every Week

Return every week to experience new Mission Modifiers that change up gameplay and test your allegiance all over again. Starting February 20, the Death from Above modifier will up the danger and add deadly artillery strikes to the mission. On February 27, things will heat up with the Molten Core modifier, which causes Null Sector to drop pools of lava on the battlefield when they are destroyed. Finally, on March 5, get electrified with the Thunderstorm modifier, which damages players who get too close to Null Sector’s monstrous forces.

Complete Your Cosmic Collection

Earn fun cosmetics and get a jump start to your Season 9 Battle Pass with a dozen new challenges to complete! Collect new voice lines, sprays, titles, a name card, a player icon, and a tasty weapon charm, along with up to 25,000 bonus Battle Pass XP. After you survive Cosmic Crisis, be sure to upgrade to the Premium Battle Pass for more eldritch-themed rewards, including the new Mythic Skin: Ancient Caller Moira.

Embrace the darkness or brave the challenges that await you. Cosmic Crisis is available now through March 12.

Overwatch 2 - Season 9: Champions and we’re celebrating with Twitch Drops! You can earn fun rewards when you watch your favorite Overwatch 2 content creators and influencers on Twitch! Link your Battle.net account today and earn these new rewards, available starting today and going through February 18.

• Watch a total of 2 hours to earn the Cybermonk Name Card
• Watch a total of 5 hours to earn the Cybermonk Voiceline for Zenyatta
• Watch a total of 8 hours to earn the Cyber Orb Weapon Charm
• Watch a total of 12 hours to earn the Cybermonk Epic Skin for Zenyatta

Earning Twitch drops for Overwatch 2 is easy! Simply connect your Battle.net account with your Twitch account, then tune into any eligible channel in the Overwatch 2 category on Twitch. Remember, when you earn any drops, you must claim them at Twitch.tv/drops to receive them in Overwatch 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are the dates of the Twitch Drops?
A. Our Twitch drops campaign runs from Tuesday, February 13 at 11 AM to Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 PM.

Q. How long do I have to claim my drops?
You must claim any drops earned at Twitch by Monday, February 19 at 11:59 PM. If you don’t claim within 24 hours from when the promotion ended, the drop will no longer be available.

Q. Do I need to claim each drop before I can start accumulating hours to get the next drop?
Twitch no longer requires viewers to claim each drop before they can earn progress to the next drop in the campaign.

Q. How do I link my Battle.net and Twitch account?
A. Sign into your Battle.net account at account.battle.net/connections and click the Connect link for Twitch, then follow the instructions to sign-in and link your Twitch account to Battle.net.

Q. What devices can I use to earn and claim drops?
A. You can earn and claim drops using your PC/Mac web browser or on the Twitch app for Android or iOS. Twitch apps on game consoles, smart TVs, and other TV apps do not support drops.

Q. Do I need to watch the same channel the entire time to earn my drops?
A. No, you can earn progress towards a drop on any channel in the Overwatch 2 category on Twitch. For example, you can watch half an hour on one channel and then switch to another channel without losing your progress. You cannot earn progress faster by watching more than one channel at a time.

Q. Will I receive my drop rewards in-game automatically?
A. No. You must claim the drop on the channel you’re watching or in the Drops Inventory menu on Twitch.

Q. Do I need to have heroes unlocked to receive the drops for that hero?
A. You do not need to have the hero unlocked to receive the drops, but you will not be able to access that cosmetic content until you unlock the applicable hero.

Q. Do Twitch Drop rewards expire?
A. Earned Twitch Drop rewards will expire seven days after they’ve been claimed if a Battle.net account has not been linked.

Q. As a streamer, how do I get Twitch Drops on my channel?
A. All you need to do is make sure your Twitch and Battle.net accounts are linked, and that you’re opted into Drops (see Drops Streamer Home).

Q. What regions are eligible for these Twitch Drops?
A. Participating regions include North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Overwatch 2 Season 9 arrives tomorrow with exciting core gameplay updates, a reworked Competitive game mode, and a season theme that will test the courage of even the bravest heroes as they face a dangerous threat of cosmic proportions. Get your friends together, queue up, and face the unknown that awaits you.

Competitive Play Updates

Thanks in part to your feedback, we’ve updated Competitive Play. Now more transparent than ever, the new Competitive Overview after every match provides clear insights into how your rank changes, including skill modifiers to help you understand your progress through the ranks. At the start of Season 9, we're doing a soft reset of everyone’s rank, giving everyone a fresh opportunity to climb higher while maintaining a standard in match quality. We’re also bringing placements back, which means your performance in these games substantially influences your initial rank placement.

For the truly daring, we're introducing a prestigious new rank above Grand Master – Champion rank. This new rank offers a fresh challenge and a chance to claim your place among elite Overwatch 2 players. We’re also providing new Competitive rewards by introducing new Jade Weapon Variants, available only during the 2024 Competitive Year beginning with Season 9. Earn new Competitive Points as you win matches and unlock Jade Variants for your favorite heroes. Click here to learn more about what changes are in store when you log in to play. It’s Time for Your Competitive Comeback!

Face a Cosmic Crisis


Join forces with your teammates in a new non-canon Co-op event to complete challenges and branching objectives as you explore the unknown, making each mission you play uniquely different. Survive the Crisis as Sigma, Roadhog, Soldier: 76, Mei, Torbjorn, Widowmaker, Lifeweaver, Moira, Ana, and Illari. Work together to uncover the truth behind your crash landing and escape the mysterious threat that lies beneath the station at Antarctica Peninsula. But beware, because a traitor in pursuit of incredible powers may be in your midst!

Brave Eldritch Horrors in the Battle Pass

Give in to whispers of madness in the Overwatch 2 - Season 9 Battle Pass. Over 80 tiers of rewards, including Survivor Soldier: 76, Tentacle Horror Torbjörn, Horror Hog Roadhog, and more, can be earned when you upgrade to the Premium Battle Pass. If you can brave the horrors of all 80 tiers of the Battle Pass, you’ll unlock Ancient Caller Mythic Moira skin. You can also get the Beholder Sigma and Harbinger Lifeweaver Legendary skins along with 2,000 Overwatch Coins and 20 tier skips when you pick up the Ultimate Battle Pass bundle.


New Skins to Fall in Love With

Visit the shop throughout the season for out-of-this-world cosmic cosmetics, plus Valentine‘s-themed skins you’re sure to fall in love with. Collect the themed remixes of Rosahardt Reinhardt, Rose Lily Widowmaker, and Cherry Blossom Kiriko. Or capture your true love with the return of fan-favorite Cupid Hanzo and the all-new Valentine’s Reaper skin.

Other cosmic surprises coming soon to the shop are Legendary Skins with scary cool remixes, including Fiend Orisa and Dark Fawn Lucio, along with Weapon Skins inspired by the graffiti of the Los Muertos gang seen on Dorado. And be sure to stay tuned for a new collaboration that will be rolling in later this season.


Team Up for Hero Mastery: Gauntlet

Experience a new multiplayer experience in Hero Mastery. Work with your team to fight against changing waves of enemies, defend your towers, and upgrade your defenses. Can you survive the Hero Mastery: Gauntlet?

Team up with friends and face tactical moments requiring both individual and collective skill. Every time you play will be a fresh experience with variations in enemy waves, objectives, and upgrade options, ensuring no two games are the same and that you can test your skill with any hero.


Bringing a Whole New Balance to Gameplay

Season 9: Champions also introduces global balance changes that affect every hero in the game. We're adjusting how the damage dealt is more consistent by increasing the projectile size while also increasing the health pools of all heroes, thereby keeping the time it takes to eliminate targets relatively the same. We also added a new passive for all heroes to regenerate their health when they step out of combat.

If you haven’t already, read up on the full details of these changes in our previous blog or check out our patch notes.

Justice Rains From Above

Season 9 also presents significant updates to Pharah, made with some strong goals in mind:

• Empower Pharah to make more individual plays and lessen her reliance on heroes like Mercy.
  
• Shift Pharah's movement capabilities from feathering up in the sky toward more horizontal movement that can cover distance quickly.
  
• Introduce brief moments of downtime for Pharah's flight.

These goals are aimed at enabling Pharah to be more effective at higher ranked thresholds and as a solo hero, while also addressing rougher experiences players have going against Pharah - such as her presence limiting the effective hero pool of the opposing team.


Pharah’s Hover Jets passive has been reworked to limit her time in the air, with fuel being recharged only while she is touching the ground. To compensate for this large change, Pharah has more speed and acceleration while in the air, allowing her to traverse between areas quicker. Jump Jets also now provide bonus fuel (50% of the total tank) and that overflows if you hit 100% fuel. So, while there are moments of downtime introduced, Pharah players will have much more control of where they want to be on the battlefield during that time in air.

Pharah also has a new ability called Jet Dash. When Pharah uses Secondary Fire she will dash in the direction she's moving. When combined with Concussive Blast and the enhanced mobility from Hover Jets, Pharah can quickly navigate herself into positions where she's highly lethal.

This more active Pharah means a healthier game and offers new levels of skill expression. We’re looking forward to your feedback on these Pharah changes.

Rolling into Junkertown

And finally, a big update for the wild and rowdy Junkertown map is coming this season. The first section of the map (the area by the first checkpoint) is quite open. It can be tough for the offensive team to push the cart through here if the defending team has a Widow or Pharah. So, we’ve replaced the small cover with a trusty, burned-out building. We’ve also replaced the outhouse that was close to the gate with a tall water tower to block the line of sight from the openings above the choke point. Additionally, a few more cars have been added to this area, and the cliffside path has been reduced.


The small health pack on the balcony overlooking the hairpin turn on the second area has been removed to lessen the defender advantage from that choke. In the third area, we added a vertical support beam on the left side of the hallway to block the sightline from the upper ledge to give more cover for attackers to enter the area. We also widened and added cover to a hallway on the outer mid-section of area 3 to open up team fights that happen there. Finally, the updated map features a new night-time lighting theme to try out.

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Overwatch 2 – Season 9: Champions begins tomorrow, so answer the call and challenge yourself on the Competitive ranks today.