Overwatch Goes Free-To-Play For Limited Time

Overwatch is currently free-to-play to celebrate the start of its latest limited-time Archives event, Storm Rising. If you don’t already own the shooter, you can try it for free on PC, PS4, or Xbox One from now through April 23.

The free trial includes every hero, including the new medic character Baptiste, along with all 27 maps. Blizzard says you’ll be able to “level up, earn Loot Boxes, unlock a variety of different customization options for their heroes, and keep any progress made during the trial when they then purchase the game on the same Blizzard or console account.”

Conveniently, the full version is on sale until April 29. From the Blizzard Shop you can grab Overwatch’s standard PC edition for 24% off or the legendary PC edition for 51% off. Alternatively you can upgrade your standard edition to a legendary edition, which includes some bonus skins, for 78% off the usual price. For console players, the Xbox and PlayStation Stores are discounting the legendary edition to around $20 / £17 / AU $33, while participating retailers have also cut the price of Overwatch’s game of the year edition.

This is all to tie in with Storm Rising, Overwatch’s latest PvE event. Blizzard’s description of the mode states: “The clock is ticking as Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba to head off a stormfront and chase down the Omnic Talon boss Maximilien in the all-new Overwatch Archives replayable mission, Storm Rising.”

In addition, the Archives event’s previous modes, Uprising and Retribution, are back for a limited time, while more than 160 new cosmetics are available in total. The pair of modes, along with Storm Rising, are available until May 6.