Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment's Pixar-esque arena shooter, will definitely not be a PC exclusive. The game might also not be a free to play game like people previously thought.
After the discovery of a few lines of code on the Blizzard website hinting at a console release for Overwatch, game retail outlet GameStop is now accepting pre-orders for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One. IGN and Kotaku both reached out to several GameStop stores in New York City where store clerks confirmed the rumor. A Reddit user went out to his local GameStop and pre-ordered the game, saying that the cost of the PC version is $40. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean that the game will not be free to play. Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's free to play MOBA, also has a $20 physical edition in brick and mortar stores that comes with a bunch of heroes. We have reached out to GameStop but have yet to hear back from them. We will update this post when and if we do.
Confirmation from Blizzard came in the form of a now deleted spash screen on the Battle.net website, citing spring 2016 as the release window. Because of the speed at which Blizzard has deleted the image, all signs point towards the leak being a mistake.
A (now deleted) page at UK-based retailer GAME's official website, a version called the Origin Edition will come with 24 heroes at launch, and hero skins. The people over at OVERPWN have a handy page that contains all you need to know about the leak, including datamines from the closed beta.
If you haven't gotten an invite to the beta yet, it seems like you will have to wait a little longer. According to a tweet on the official Overwatch Twitter page, there will be no additional waves of invites until after Blizzcon, which will start today.
[BETA] As a friendly heads up: There will be no new beta invite waves until after BlizzCon.
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) November 5, 2015
Since Overwatch got announced with a beautiful trailer at Blizzcon last year, people have been hotly anticipating to get their hands on the team-based arena shooter with a MOBA twist. The closed beta has been going on for a little while now, and has garnered mixed reactions from the public and press alike.
Quick Take
I'm really happy that this game is coming to consoles. I've been dying to play the game but the prospect of subjecting my arm to intensive mouse use was not a pleasant one. From what I've seen this game seems perfect for consoles as well as PC, and it is in Blizzard's best interests to release Overwatch on as many platforms as possible. Everybody wins here.