Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play, early access planned for October

Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play, early access planned for October

Yet another shooter franchise is taking the leap into the free-to-play pool. During the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase of Microsoft, Blizzard took to the stage to announce Overwatch 2 will be launching without a price tag on October 4. The launch will be in an early-access state, however. Watch the trailer with fresh gameplay above.

This will be the five versus five competitive side that's releasing, featuring full cross-play, new content like new heroes and maps, gameplay overhauls, and more over the first release.

"This is the beginning of an always-on and always-evolving era for the franchise, and a recommitment to serving players with frequent and substantial updates planned well into the future to keep Overwatch 2 fresh and fun for many years to come," said President of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Ybarra.

Blizzard also revealed a hero joining the roster with the early access launch: Junker Queen a brand-new tank. She marks the 34th hero joining the franchise, and they will all be available in the sequel. Fans will have to wait until a reveal event happening on June 16 at 1PM ET to find out all the details about Junker Queen and release plans.

Overwatch 2 is releasing as an early access title on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch on October 4. It's unclear when will the story and cooperative play elements will enter the title, and if they will be free-to-play too.