Hail fellow well met and welcome new players to Overwatch! I am WyomingMyst and one of the Blizzard Forum MVPs here. I am very happy that you have joined our great community during the FREE WEEKEND and wish you the best of luck and fun in Overwatch this weekend. This guide is a quick review of common steps to installing Overwatch on your PC or gaming console.
Free Weekend Schedule
Access to the Overwatch Free Weekend runs now through Monday May 28th at 11:59 PDT.
PC Players
Check system requirements
First please make sure your PC is ready to install Overwatch. Here are the recommended requirements to run Overwatch without any problems.
- Operating System: Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X3 or better
- GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 or AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or better
- RAM: 6 GB RAM
- Storage: 30 GB available hard drive space
- Internet: Broadband internet connection
- Display: 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
You can learn more details about installation requirements here: Blizzard Support - Overwatch 2 System Requirements
Update your system drivers
When you do install Overwatch on your PC, it is highly recommended to make sure all your drivers and operating system is fully up to date. This guide will detail steps on how to do this, if you do not do this regularly on your PC:
Installing Overwatch
- Step 1: Download and install the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app, if you haven’t already, and launch it.
- Step 2: Create a FREE Blizzard account, or log in with an existing account.
- Step 3: Click the “Overwatch” icon, located on the left-hand side of the Blizzard desktop app.
- Step 4: Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click “Install” to begin the installation process.
- Step 5: Once installed, click “Play” to begin!
Please be advised it will take some amount of time to download the game and there may be times download will appear to have stopped. Don’t worry this is normal!
Console Players
Installing Overwatch
Rollout for Overwatch on console platforms may be delayed based on free weekend release from each console’s online store.
For PlayStation 4
- Step 1: Turn on your PlayStation 4 and log in to your preferred local user.
- Step 2: Go to PlayStation Store and select “Search” from the top menu.
- Step 3: In the search field, type in “Overwatch.”
- Step 4: Select “Overwatch Free Weekend” from the search results and then click “Download.”
- Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click “Start” to begin!
For Xbox Live
- Step 1: Turn on your Xbox One and log in to your Xbox Live account.
- Step 2: Go to the Xbox One Store, then select “Search.”
- Step 3: In the search field, type in “Overwatch.”
- Step 4: Select “Overwatch: Origins Edition” from the search results and then click “Free Trial.”
- Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click “Launch” to begin!
Please be advised it will take some amount of time to download the game and then, the game may have to update when you first launch it.
Active Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus Subscription
Overwatch is an online multiplayer game and therefore an active subscription to Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus is required.
Purchase Xbox Live Gold subscription: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/xbox-live-gold-membership-digital-code/cfq7ttc0k5zm/0002
Purchase PlayStation Plus subscription: PlayStation®Plus | Hundreds of games to download and play, PlayStation classics, game trials and more
You can also purchase subscription cards at your favorite video game retailer and many convenience stores. (Target, Walmart, Fry’s, Best Buy, 7-Eleven, etc.)
Forum Access
Only those with a paid license of Overwatch can post in the general discussion, competitive discussion, PTR Feedback, and PTR Bug Report, or any of the Looking for Group forums.
If you are a console player who decides to purchase Overwatch, and you wish to get full forum posting privileges and additional benefits (such as promotional cosmetics for your heroes) for your console Overwatch account, you will need to link a Battle.net account to your console account. First sign up for a Battle.net account if you have not done so already by clicking the log-in button at the top of this webpage. Once a Battle.net account is created, you will need to link it to your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account by following these steps:
*Note forum privliages may take up to 72 hours to grant. Please sign out and sign back in to check for access.
Hopefully these steps will get you started and into the world of Overwatch! If you have any questions or if you encounter any problems getting started, check out the stickied forum posts in this forum as they contain a great deal of troubleshooting for the most common problems players could encounter. Also post a new topic if you have any specific issues, where a player such as myself or a Blizzard Support Agent may be able to lend a hand. Once again, Happy Holidays and welcome to Overwatch.
Common F.A.Q.
I purchased the “Legendary” edition, but there are no Loot Boxes?
Overwatch Legendary Edition comes with preselected Legendary and Epic skins from the Standard Loot Box distribution. No loot boxes are included unlike the old “Game of the Year” edition.
I have a friend on one platform (PC/XB1/PS4) but I play on a different one. Can we group up?
Unfortunately, no. Overwatch gameplay features including grouping up with friends requires you to both be on the same platform.
I have an account on a certain platform (PC/XB1/PS4) if I purchase Overwatch for a different platform, can I transfer my stats and collected items over?
Unfortunately, no. Due to licensing restrictions between platforms, players cannot move from one platform to another.
I have a question about what game modes and achievements I can access?
Check out the official blog post here for details.
Common Errors
No Compatible Graphics Card Found
This typically means your graphics card or chipset that is currently running is not compatible with Overwatch’s System Requirements. If you are sure you have a compatible graphics card, check out this guide here.
Rendering Device Lost
This happens when your graphics card or chipset has crashed. Check out this guide for help.
General Error
This happens with software or driver conflicts. Again please make sure your drivers and Operating System are up to date. Also check for any conflicting overlays or background processes which may interfere with Overwatch.
Loads into a black screen then crashes.
If you own any Razer branded devices, please update to the latest version of Razer Synpase 3. Otherwise check this guide.
I get a message on the title screen that says “Lost Connection to the Server”.
Check out this guide to make sure your equipment is configured correctly. Otherwise you may need to check your connection route by running a WinMTR test.