Overwatch 2 glitchy release: Marketing Gimmicks, DDoS and hellish queue

Overwatch 2, the successor to Overwatch – a title that had little to no complaints since its release in 2016 – has not got off the best of starts after going live on Tuesday. The game has been hit by a DDos attack and the same was confirmed by Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment, on his Twitter account.

“Unfortunately, we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers,” Ybarra said. The problems are a bit more severe than that. Players who managed to enter the servers have also come across issues – often getting dropped from matches that has made everything around the game the biggest talking point. Most players are yet to actually play the actual title.

Second DDoS attack needs taking care of

Things don’t look like they’ll get smoother anytime soon. While Overwatch fans were patiently waiting for some good news, Aaron Keller, Blizzard’s Overwatch Game Director, had to reveal that the team is dealing with another DDoS attack.

“We’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack. We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Thank you for your patience – we’ll share more info as it becomes available,” Keller revealed on his Twitter account.

Overwatch 2 has made some changes to its incredibly successful predecessor. There’ll now just be five heroes in a team as opposed to the six in the original game. This will make a massive difference because even the slightest changes — like the inclusion of a new hero – had a far-reaching effect on how the game was played in the original version.

Sadly, players are stuck in a nightmarish queue that wont even let them experience the game 3 days after release.

Overwatch 2 already had critics before release

Even before the release of the game, the choice to make Overwatch 2 a free-to-play game had been met with a lot of backlash. One of the reasons the original game endured and was so popular among those who played it was that it differentiated itself from games like Fortnite, Apex Legends and some of EA’s games, which have been criticized in the past for their marketing and merchandising gimmicks.

The worst thing that could’ve happened to a game that was already being met with suspicion was a launch-day like this. There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about games launching earlier than they should. Cyberpunk 2077 faced a lot of backlash after releasing what was clearly an incomplete game, and gamers are just looking for the next title to pile on, on the daily. Overwatch 2 might just be what they needed.

This could just be a failed launch-day and not much more. The original title has a lot of credit in the bank and many fans will be patient. Overwatch 2 will be available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC. The cross-play feature will also be available this time.