Who Needs Battlenet? Overwatch 2 Heads To Steam, Other Games To Follow

Sooner or later, every game comes to Steam, or well, it feels like that anyway. Normally, the games one might not expect to see make their way over are those belonging to Activision Blizzard. After all, they have Battle.net. But, times… they are a’changin’, and today, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 will be available on the Steam Library.

According to the announcement, the company is trying to “[meet] players around the world where they are and [make their] games as easy as possible to access and play”. It seems the shooter will only be the beginning, too. The company plans to make “a selection” of games available on Steam, beginning with the team shooter on August 10.

There’s a bit of dialog in the announcement about how gaming has changed over the years since Battle.net first launched, these changes being the reason for taking some of their library to Steam.

Chances are, the decision probably has something to do with the impending finalization of Microsoft’s purchase. As for why they chose Overwatch 2… well, we did report earlier today that the game has seen a drop in player engagement and spending, and layoffs on the esports side of things. Putting it on a secondary platform could help bolster that by catching those who are unwilling to download Battle.net but are willing to give whatever free game pops up on Steam a go.

Note: Activision Blizzard has been sued by California’s Civil Rights Department, alleging violations of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and Equal Pay Act. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about the alleged violations within his company. These allegations have all been denied by Activision Blizzard and the company points to additional diversity and inclusion training as past examples of taking the accusations seriously at the time they were made.