In a groundbreaking announcement, Blizzard Entertainment confirmed on Wednesday that it would soon begin launching its celebrated PC games on Valve’s Steam platform, with Overwatch 2 leading the charge on August 10.
This move marks the evolution of Blizzard’s once-exclusive strategy, helping it appeal to a wider audience and make more of its games accessible. We can only presume that Microsoft’s imminent acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the reported player engagement slump played a role in this sudden change of mind.
Overwatch 2, the acclaimed free-to-play team-based shooter, will be the first to debut on the Valve platform, but it isn’t the last. Blizzard disclosed plans to transfer “a selection” of its gaming titles from its home turf, Battle.net, to Steam. It refrained from specifying which games would follow suit but reassured fans that its fidelity to Battle.net remained unscathed.
The shift to Steam, which had a user base of 132 million monthly active users in 2021, as per Valve, is an opportunity for the company to reinvigorate Overwatch 2. The game’s debut on Steam coincides with the release of a new season, a new hero, new PvE missions, and a new core PvP game mode, creating a hotbed of potential for attracting new players.
In a blog post, Blizzard shed light on its decision, saying:
Gaming is for everyone–and though we remain committed to continually investing in and supporting Battle.net, we want to break down the barriers to make it easier for players everywhere to find and enjoy our games.
Which is why we’re trying something new.
We’re excited to announce that we are bringing a selection of our games to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2… which will be available on the platform on August 10!
The latest news sparked excitement within the industry, prompting a short statement from Gabe Newell, Valve’s president, “Gamers and developers are both going to benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam.
With its debut, the game promises to tap into Steam’s rich features, including the coveted Steam achievements and friend lists, enhancing the gameplay experience.
Despite this shift, Overwatch 2 players on Steam will still need a Battle.net account to play. In a move to balance both of the said platforms, Blizzard underscored that this shift wouldn’t replace Battle.net but supplement it. With Battle.net serving as a bedrock since 1996, Blizzard retains a distinct status in the gaming industry, and this latest move marks a significant pivot in its approach.
Fans speculate that Blizzard’s future plans for Steam might include popular titles like Hearthstone, Diablo 2 Resurrected, as well as StarCraft: Remastered, StarCraft 2, and Warcraft 3: Reforged. However, the arrival of World of Warcraft on Steam will be a sight to behold.
As Blizzard has cryptically stated, it will share more about future game releases “when the time is right.”
This small ray of light could not have come at a much better time for Blizzard as it deals with the angry mob of players after its latest Diablo 4 update and the residual discontent from Overwatch 2 players following its decision to push back the release of the game’s PvE content to next year.
One way of topping this is for Blizzard to confirm StarCraft 3 at this year’s BlizzCon.
