If you don’t already know, Overwatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter that has a fan base of millions of players. The game was released in 2016 and took the world by storm, winning over a shocking 125+ game of the year awards.
Ever since then Blizzard has made sure that fans of the game are kept entertained and have released new limited-time events every now and then. The game revolves around good communication with teammates and is the most fun when played with friends.
If you or any of your friends play Overwatch and want each other to play together but are hesitant towards buying the game then don’t worry because you will get plenty of chances to try the game out before you finally buy it.
Overwatch Free Weekends
Blizzard announces free weekends for the game from time to time so that they can attract more players by letting the people try the game out for themselves. On free weekends you can download the game for free for steam, the PlayStation store or the Xbox games store depending on what platform you are playing on.
Unfortunate for the console players, however, is that PC users get free weekends much more frequently as compared to PlayStation or Xbox users. But console users do not need an online subscription to play on free weekends so you can play without buying PlayStation Plus or Xbox Gold.
Players that are playing the game with the free to play version will have no restriction towards any sort of hero selection, loot boxes or cosmetics. You can play as much as you want for the time given and can group together with friends and play competitively if you can reach the required level limit in time that is.
Sometimes along with free weekends, Blizzard also announces that all XP gained during the free weekend will be multiplied by two. If this occurs the change takes effect for people with the free to play version and the people that had bought the game and have been playing before the free weekend had even been announced.
Another interesting thing about the free to play version is that if you choose to buy the game any time after the free weekend ends, then all of your progress will be carried over to the full version of the game. This includes your XP, your level, your stats so far and any loot boxes that have not been opened along with every cosmetic that you have unlocked so far.
The number of things carried over to the full version also includes your competitive record. If you had reached the minimum level required to play the competitive mode then any games you may have played during that competitive season will be carried over to the full version of the game provided that the then running season has not already ended. This includes your placement progress or your Skill Rating (SR).
It has been quite some time since the last free weekend, with the previous free weekend in June 2019 during the end of Overwatch’s 3rd-anniversary event. It is unknown when the next free weekend might take place as all of Blizzard’s announcements regarding the matter have been completely random. The game might go completely free to play once and of all when Overwatch 2 is released sometime in the future but these are all rumors and have not been confirmed by Blizzard so far.