Overwatch's Open Access Beta Begins At Midnight (UK Time)

Blizzard’s team-based shooter begins its Open Beta (for which you don’t need a pre-order) at Midnight tonight.

Blizzard’s team-based shooter begins its Open Beta (for which you don’t need a pre-order) at Midnight tonight.

The Overwatch Character Roster

If you’ve not yet had the opportunity to play Overwatch, Blizzard‘s upcoming first person arena FPS, you might want to make immediate preparations. Scheduled to start at Midnight tonight (12am UK Time) is the Open Access Beta period, four days when anyone and everyone will have the chance to cram in as much Overwatch action as they can ahead of the game’s release later this month.

Overwatch Open Access Beta Launch Times

Unlike both the invite-only Closed Beta and Pre-order-only Early Access Beta, all you need to participate is a Battle.net account for your region with the desktop client installed. Once the fateful hour ticks over you should* be able to download and install the game, ready for play immediately.

The entirety of the content for Overwatch will be available to play during the Open Beta, with no portions locked off behind paywalls. That includes all 21 characters, 12 maps and each game mode, as well as the Battle.net friends system and pre-release matchmaking. Note however that progress in terms of unlocked skins will not carry over to the full release, so everyone will start on an equal footing come May 24th.

Gameplay Trailer

Servers on Wednesday night are likely to be busy, so it’s advisable to create your Battle.net account before hand if you don’t have one already.

Creating a Battle.net Acc:

Step 1: Download and install the Battle.net desktop app, if you haven’t already, and launch it.
Step 2: Create a FREE Battle.net account, or log in with an existing account.
Step 3: Click the “Overwatch” icon, located on the left-hand side of the Battle.net desktop app.
Step 4: Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click “Install” to begin the installation process.
Step 5: Once installed, click “Play” to begin!

The minimum and recommended PC specifications for Overwatch are as follows:

Minimum (targeting 30fps):

Operating system: Windows® 7/Windows®8 /Windows®10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i3 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8650
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460, ATI Radeon™ HD 4850, or Intel® HD Graphics 4400
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Storage: 30 GB available hard drive space
Broadband internet connection
1280×780 minimum display resolution

Recommended (targeting 60fps on Medium settings):

Operating system: Windows® 7/Windows®8 /Windows®10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X3 or better
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 or AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or better
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Storage: 30 GB available hard drive space
Broadband internet connection
1280×780 minimum display resolution

Ideally, as with all action games, you should be targeting 60fps for gameplay that feels smooth. Thankfully the requirements aren’t too onerous, although AMD GPUs are slightly disadvantaged.

The Overwatch Open Beta is the ideal ‘try before you buy’ option if you’re still on the fence about purchasing. A standard edition of the game is currently on sale for £27.99 directly through the Blizzard store (as a digital download), whilst the ‘Origin’s Edition’ is priced at £44.99 but includes additional exclusive skins.

For more information on the Open Beta, including console-specific info, visit https://playoverwatch.com/en-gb/blog/20100169.

* We say should rather than will because demand is likely to be massive and make bring the servers to their knees.