Following a special Overwatch 2 presentation, which gave fans some insight on PVP changes, more details have begun trickling out from Blizzard. The follow-up to The Game Awards’ 2016 Game of the Year still doesn’t have a release date, although it seems the game won’t release until 2022 at the earliest, yet players are learning more about whether they should expect cross-platform gameplay and progression when Overwatch 2 launches. And while plans can change, right now players should have a better understanding of what the Overwatch 2 team has in store for both.
Crossplay is a feature growing in popularity for online games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone. A part of why those titles have continued to garner huge playerbases is their crossplay and cross-progression features allow players to match up with others on a different platform, while cross-progression maintains a gamer’s account no matter how they play. Unfortunately, Overwatch didn’t launch with either feature and never added them later, but it seems Overwatch 2 will – just at different times.
In a recent Reddit AMA, Blizzard was asked about cross-platform progression in Overwatch 2 and Technical Director John Lafleur offered some insight as to when those features will arrive, if at all. While an official announcement is still to come, Lafleur explained the team feels it makes more sense they get cross-play up and running first, and then tackle cross-progression as an add-on if they decide to go that route. With some of Blizzard’s high-profile departures recently, it’s not surprising Overwatch 2 may not check all the boxes fans would want at launch, but there are examples of other games that have implemented cross-progression they can model their efforts after.
How Overwatch 2 Can Eventually Implement Cross-Progression
Cross-progression in games is generally tied to an account created by a developer. These accounts are separate from a player’s online account like Xbox Live or PSN and are used to connect all platforms. Fortnite is one example of how these accounts work for cross-progression. Players who wish to save their progress on one platform to play on another without losing anything can do so by signing up for an Epic Games account. Players can then link their Epic Games account to the platform they are currently using and all their progress is moved over. If Overwatch 2 wants cross-progression, it will likely have to implement a similar method.
Activision, which distributes Overwatch, also handles Call of Duty: Warzone, and is tied to the game’s cross-play capabilities. For Warzone, players have to sign up and link their games to an Activision/Call of Duty account to save progress and play with others across various platforms. Perhaps the Overwatch team can implement the same Activision account method for cross-play, or make the PC-only Battlenet accounts Blizzard uses for consoles and link them all together. However Overwatch 2 decides to proceed with its cross-play options, there are ways to do it.
