Overwatch 2 suffers multiple DDoS attacks on launch day

Overwatch 2 was supposed to be out right now, but Blizzard Entertainment is having a hard time making it available to play due to DDoS attacks.


A botched launch day is the least of Blizzard's worries with Overwatch 2.
A botched launch day is the least of Blizzard's worries with Overwatch 2.

If you’re having trouble enjoying Overwatch 2, we’ve got not-so-good news for you – you’re not alone and the problem isn’t ending anytime soon.

According to Blizzard president, Mike Ybarra, Overwatch 2 servers are down due to a “mass” distributed denial of service attack, otherwise known as DDoS. A few hours later, Overwatch 2 game director, Aaron Keller, confirmed that Blizzard is still working on getting the servers back up after the game suffered a second DDoS attack.

This is bad news for the Overwatch sequel, as Blizzard recently said goodbye to the original. There isn’t an alternative to Overwatch 2 right now outside of playing other shooters, which is as bad as things can get for a new title.

Errors, bugs, and disconnections are normal for any new multiplayer game as game servers adjust to the influx of incoming players. However, a DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to get players to stop playing a particular game, which, in this case, is Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 is a massive leap of faith for Blizzard Entertainment. Six years after it launched Overwatch, the sequel will eschew the older title’s price as it goes free-to-play. In addition, Overwatch 2 will completely turn the monetization scheme on its head by offering a Battle Pass as opposed to the controversy-magnet loot boxes.

Without an ETA, Overwatch fans have no choice but to twiddle their thumbs while waiting for an update.

Overwatch 2 needs a ton more fine tuning for it to be considered as a true sequel.
Overwatch 2 needs a ton more fine tuning for it to be considered as a true sequel.

In other Blizzard news, the company just announced the release date for the next World of Warcraft expansion, Dragonflight. Also, a new job listing sheds light on Blizzard’s still-untitled survival game. Finally, Microsoft is trying to rally support for its Activision Blizzard acquisition with a new page dedicated to discussing all of the benefits of letting the biggest video game acquisition in history push through.

Ray Ampoloquio
Ray Ampoloquio // Articles: 7186
With over 20 years of gaming experience and technical expertise building computers, I provide trusted coverage and analysis of gaming hardware, software, upcoming titles, and broader entertainment trends. // Full Bio