Overwatch 2 launched with some server and connection issues. Players are once again stuck in queues for the release of the first major event.
Update from October 25, 9:00 PM: The Halloween event in Overwatch 2 started on October 25, and right at the evening’s release, new issues arose. Blizzard is already indicating in the Battle.net launcher that live maintenance is currently underway, which may lead to connection problems.
Logging in is also taking a while. According to our observations, queues of 700 players or more are possible, and they are only decreasing very slowly. We managed to log in after about 20 minutes. If you get into the game, you will receive a skin as compensation for the release issues.
Together with the patch, the temporarily disabled hero Bastion should also become playable again. Bastion was temporarily deactivated due to a bug.
See the trailer for the Halloween event that everyone is waiting for:
Update from October 7, 1:05 PM: The issues persist. Colleagues from the editorial team pointed out that switching to the Asia region helps to get into the game. Asian servers seem to be less affected by the DDoS attacks. However, expect a higher ping.
As MeinMMO reader Lisa pointed out, Blizzard planned a patch according to official forum post that should address the current issues. It should have been implemented by now.
Even though some in the community are upset about streamers who can play without issues. But even the biggest streamer in the world is struggling with the problems.
Last night, there were massive login issues, and it was not possible to play at all. Even on Reddit for Overwatch 2, the problems are the dominating topic (via reddit). Presumably, Blizzard continues to grapple with DDoS attacks.
Our MeinMMO editorial team has mixed results. Some of us are having trouble logging in, while others have no issues and can play.
Overwatch 2: Tier list for release – The best DPS, tank, and support heroes
Update from October 5, 8:00 PM: On the evening of October 5, there are further issues, apparently related to the DDoS attacks. Players are sometimes unable to log into Battle.net.
Those who start Overwatch may get into the queue with some luck, but with bad luck, they may be greeted by the error message: “Login failed”:
However, there is currently no further information from Blizzard regarding the problem. It is known, and the developers are working on a solution.
Original report from October 4: Overwatch 2 was supposed to launch at 9:00 PM sharp. However, the servers went live about an hour earlier. But you still can’t play.
Anyone trying to log in at the moment is greeted by a queue. Currently, according to the display, there are over 40,000 players ahead of you waiting in the queue, and that alone on PC.
The queue affects all platforms according to our current information, but it is shorter on some. Colleague Maik Schneider reports about 10,000 players on the PlayStation, even though Overwatch 2 fully supports crossplay.
How long do I have to wait? Unlike the insane queues in WotLK Classic, Overwatch does not give you a message about how long the wait times are. Based on our observations, you should expect about 30 minutes of wait time.
The queue shrinks to about 30,000 after a few minutes, but from there it takes a while again. We will update you when we have concrete information about the wait times.
In the video, we reveal the most important things about Overwatch 2 in a concise 42 seconds:
Connection to game server lost – Restart?
On social media such as reddit and Twitter, players share their current queues. Some are only at 20,000, while others fluctuate joyfully between 0, 300, 4,000, and more, making it difficult to estimate an exact wait time.
Following the enormous influx, many waiting players express their frustration through memes:
There is also repeatedly the error message: “Connection to game server lost/failed”, which will throw you out of the queue. If that happens, you should wait a moment and hope for an automatic reconnect. If that doesn’t work, according to current information, a restart may be the only solution. If that doesn’t help either, restarting the Battle.net client may help if you are playing on PC.
According to Blizzard’s official support, the problem is known, and they are actively working on it (via Twitter). There is also a post in the official forum. It states, among other things:
- Players who have merged their accounts for PC and console may encounter an “unexpected server error”
- some cosmetics may be missing
- there may be connection drops
What is so special about Overwatch 2? If you haven’t followed the development of Overwatch 2, we summarize the most important points for you:
- Originally, Overwatch 2 was supposed to be a kind of sequel to Overwatch.
- At the core of the game was a co-op mode in PvE with hero progression and story focus.
- Back then, there was great discontent because no one wanted to pay for a “better update”.
- Today, at least the PvP part is completely free and relies on a battle pass as the new progression system.
The biggest innovations in Overwatch 2 are mainly the revamped graphics and the shift to 5 players per team instead of 6 as before.
The reduction of one tank leads to better gameplay flow and more action, resulting in a generally smoother game experience, as MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus explains in detail in his preview report on Overwatch 2.
The new PvE mode is currently not playable and will be added later, presumably for a fee. Overwatch 1 has meanwhile been shut down and is no longer available. The whole game has been transitioned to Overwatch 2, for which new heroes and updates will be released going forward.
With our checklist, you can prepare ideally, especially if you are still stuck in the queue:
Overwatch 2: The most important tips before starting in the checklist
