Overwatch will be free to play this weekend

Overwatch, a frantic online first person shooter, has taken the world by storm, and if you haven’t had a chance to check it out and see what the fuss is all about then this coming weekend (February 16-19) will give you the perfect chance, as it will be free to play.

Blizzard, the company behind Overwatch, announced that it will be giving people access to its full collection of 26 playable heroes and 17 maps for free, with a variety of modes available to test. These modes include Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Arcade.

While playing the free version this weekend, you’ll be able to level up your characters and unlock various customization options, and if you go on to purchase the full version of Overwatch, any progress you’ve made during the weekend will be carried over.

Getting your game on

The offer will start on Friday February 16 at 11am PST (2pm EST, 7pm GMT, 6am February 17, AEDT), and you won’t need any special code to get the game for free. All you need to do on PC is download the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app and create a free Blizzard account, then install Overwatch.

On PS4 and Xbox One, you’ll need to open up the PlayStation Store or Xbox One Store and search for “Overwatch”, then select either “Overwatch Free Weekend” or  “Overwatch: Origins Edition” and then “Free Trial”.

Meanwhile, Overwatch is becoming increasingly popular as an esport, with its own Overwatch pro gaming league, which in its first week managed 10 million views.

  • Aspiring Overwatch pros should be using one of our best GPUs

Via Ubergizmo

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.