Spend a long weekend playing 'Overwatch' for free
When you've got 20 million registered players, you can afford to be a little generous.
Blizzard is opening up Overwatch to anyone that wants to try it for the Friday-to-Monday weekend of Nov. 18-21. This applies to all versions of the game, so anyone with a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One can get in on the good times.
The full version of the game will be available during the free weekend, including all 22 heroes -- no Sombra yet, sadly -- and 13 maps in the game's Quick Play, Custom Games and Weekly Brawl modes. All participants will earn XP and unlock loot boxes as they play, and that progress will remain if you then turn around and buy the game.
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The free-to-play window will open on Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. ET. Blizzard created a handy map showing the start times for every region of the world.
Overwatch is a competitive first-person shooter that's managed to carve out a huge following in a market that's been dominated for years by games like Call of Duty and Battlefield. That success can be credited to the game's extreme accessibility.
It's not just about shooting in Overwatch; some heroes are healers, others are built to absorb damage or disrupt the flow of the enemy team's match. In its best moments, the game feels like a very challenging co-op experience.
The fine balance struck between the diverse cast of heroes in Overwatch has also quickly established the game as an esports darling. It's more complicated than a shooter like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but the colorful characters and easily grasped rules have helped to keep it watchable.
If you've never given Overwatch a shot before, the upcoming free weekend is a great chance to correct that. Even if you don't click with the game, it's a good one to learn more about given the growing esports presence.
Topics Blizzard Entertainment Esports Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
