Activision and Blizzard Entertainment officially announced that Blizzard’s upcoming new team-based, first-person shooter video game, Overwatch, will in fact receive a release on current-gen systems. The announcement was made this week during BlizzCon. Overwatch will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC in spring 2016. The game is now available for pre-order, and Blizzard has also confirmed the details for an Overwatch Collector’s Edition. Players who pre-order the game will receive the Noire skin for the ice-cold assassin, Noire, at launch.
The game will be a 6v6 shooter set on a futuristic Earth where teams of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities clash for control of iconic locations around the world. Overwatch will have a cast of 21 heroes, each with their own unique arsenal and abilities.
Speakingon the game’s release, Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime stated: “We’re building Overwatch to be the first-person shooter we’ve always wanted to play, with a vibrant world, awesome heroes, and an emphasis on tightly focused cooperative gameplay. We’re excited to welcome console and PC gamers to the fight for the future, and we can’t wait to see all the incredible things teams are able to accomplish on the battlefield this upcoming spring.”
During BlizzCon, Blizzard also unveiled a new map for the game, Hollywood, which takes players on a dazzling and dangerous movie studio tour, along with the final three heroes in Overwatch’s 21-character roster. The newly announced characters include: Genji, a cybernetic ninja, is an expert assassin capable of extraordinary feats of agility, including reflecting enemy attacks with his blade; D.Va, a former pro-gaming superstar who pilots an experimental military mech in defense of her home country; and finally, Mei, who travels the globe applying her scientific expertise to protect the natural world.
The game will be priced at $59.99. There will be an Origins Edition version of the game with hero skins for five characters based on their storied pasts, Blackwatch Reyes (Reaper), Strike-Commander Morrison (Soldier: 76), Overgrown Bastion, Security Chief Pharah, and Slipstream Tracer. The Origins Edition will also include a cache of Overwatch-themed content for several Blizzard Entertainment games, such as a Baby Winston pet for World of Warcraft and Tracer hero for Heroes of the Storm.
Blizzard has also confirmed a retail-only Overwatch Collector’s Edition priced at $129.99 that will be available for the Windows PC, PS4 and Xbox One versions. The Collector’s Edition will feature all the content listed above, plus a full-color art book, the Overwatch soundtrack, and a collectible statue of Soldier: 76 — the vigilante alter ego of former Overwatch commander Jack Morrison. Overwatch will also be available as a digital download edition for the PC for a discounted price of $39.99. This version only has the core game and the 21 launch heroes.
Specific release dates will be announced later on. You can also check out some new gameplay videos that were released for Overwatch at BlizzCon below.
