Overwatch gets free weekend on consoles and PC

Overwatch will stage a four-day, free weekend beginning Thursday, Aug. 23. While free players will have to buy the game to continue beyond that, all 28 characters and every map will be available to them on all platforms — PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.

Blizzard staged a free weekend a month ago, but that one was only for PC, observing the inaugural Overwatch League Grand Finals. The free play begins at 11 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 23 and continues until Monday, Aug. 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that, free players will be able to transfer any progress they’ve made if they buy Overwatch Legendary Edition on the console they played, or any version of Overwatch on PC.

PC players will be able to download Overwatch for free through the Blizzard Battle.net client. They’ll need an account on it, though. PS4 players will find it in the PlayStation Store under “Overwatch Free Weekend.” Xbox One players should search for “Overwatch: Origins Edition,” in the Xbox One Store and select the “Free Trial” button.

A PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription is necessary to play Overwatch on those consoles. The free weekend clients are available for download now. The free trial will offer the Quick Play, Play vs. AI, Custom Game and Arcade modes. More details are in this FAQ.

Overwatch’s 28th hero, Wrecking Ball (a mech piloted by an anthropomorphic hamster from the moon — literally) was added to the game on July 24. “As the seventh tank hero in the Overwatch lineup,” says Blizzard in his official bio, “Wrecking Ball provides disruption while also being an aggressive bruiser that bullies the enemy’s backline, eliminating vulnerable heroes that are left unguarded.”