Overwatch 2 Finally Returning to China

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Summary

  • Overwatch 2 will return to China on February 19 after a two-year absence, with a technical test on January 8.
  • Chinese players have missed 12 seasons.
  • The first live Overwatch Championship Series event in 2025 will take place in Hangzhou to celebrate the game’s triumphant return to China.

The eagerly awaited return of Overwatch 2 to China is set for February 19th. Starting January 8th, enthusiasts will have a chance to participate in a technical test. After more than two years without their servers active, Chinese Overwatch 2 players will now be able to reconnect with the heroes, game modes, and other features that were part of the past 12 seasons they missed out on.

Beginning on January 24, 2023, the agreement between Blizzard and NetEase expired, making it impossible for players in China to access almost all of Blizzard’s games, including Overwatch 2. Fortunately, in April 2024, these companies put their differences aside and started the long journey to reintroduce Blizzard games to China, one of the most populous nations globally.

At last, the much-anticipated return of “Overwatch 2” is set for China. This was announced by Walter Kong, global general manager of the Overwatch franchise, on behalf of Blizzard Entertainment. The sequel shooter will be available in China from February 19, which coincidentally marks the start of Overwatch 2 Season 15. Prior to this, an open technical test will take place from January 8 to 15, allowing every Chinese gamer to test out all 42 characters, including Hazard, the new tank for Overwatch 2 Season 14, and the classic 6v6 game mode from the original Overwatch.

Overwatch 2 Returns to China on February 19

Not only is that thrilling, but in 2025, esports for the game Overwatch will make a strong comeback with the Overwatch Championship Series. This time around, Chinese players will have their own dedicated region to compete in. To kick things off, the initial live Overwatch Championship Series event of 2025 will happen in Hangzhou as a celebration of its resurgence in China.

During Season 2 of Overwatch 2, the Chinese servers unexpectedly went offline, causing fans to miss out on quite a bit. At that time, Ramattra was the newest character in the game, meaning they missed out on playing six new heroes: Lifeweaver, Illari, Mauga, Venture, Juno, and Hazard. To make matters worse, after their servers closed, new content such as the Flashpoint and Clash game modes, the Antarctic Peninsula, Samoa, and Runasapi maps, and Invasion story missions were all released, along with numerous hero reworks and balance adjustments. So, Chinese players will have a significant amount of catching up to do once they can access the game again.

It’s a bummer that it looks like the Lunar New Year event in Overwatch 2 is wrapping up soon, just before the game makes its comeback to China. That means many of us fans might miss out on the event’s unique skins and the reappearance of Prop Hunt mode. Fingers crossed that Overwatch 2 organizes a delayed version of this event so we can celebrate the Lunar New Year within the game, right alongside our return to Future Earth.

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2025-01-06 23:55