Overwatch 2 Beta and Ping system on the way, according to Reddit AMA

On Monday, Blizzard’s Overwatch developer team took to Reddit to host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. There, they offered new information on Overwatch 2, including the fact that the game will most likely have a beta.

For longtime Blizzard fans, this may not come as a surprise. After all, the company historically runs pre-release testing for their major multiplayer games.

However, exact details on the beta are scarce. Technical director John Lafleur was very ironic when he discussed a possible beta date: “If I knew when, I couldn’t tell you. If I told you, I would have to kill you. But [game director Aaron Keller] is our resident secret divider, so you might want to give it a try!

In addition to the beta announcement, Overwatch fans have some new features to look forward to.

For example, Game Director Aaron Keller confirmed that Blizzard is looking into a ping system for Overwatch 2. This feature is a staple of Apex Legends, making it easier to communicate team goals and basic commands without using a microphone.

“We definitely considered that,” Keller said. “In fact, right now we have a prototype running in-house. We don’t have a habit of promising things to players until they are actually announced and I’m not going to break that tradition right now (I’m sure I’ll skip it elsewhere in this AMA), but it’s something we are about. enthusiastic as a team and at the moment we are solving the problems ”.

Blizzard was a little more cautious about whether Overwatch 2 had cross-play or cross-progression functionality. As Technical Director John Lafleur said, “We are quite excited about the cross-play and cross-progression possibilities, but we have nothing to announce today.”

Continuing, he said: “However, given the additional complexities of cross-progression, it would probably make more sense to tackle cross-play first and then explore progression as a potential add-on if we go that route.”

While this provisional information is rather tantalizing, we still don’t have key information like the game’s release date. But given Blizzard’s recent announcement that Overwatch 2 will be 5v5 instead of 6v6, it’s a sure bet they have more surprises in store for players.