Overwatch 2 hands-on: Our thoughts after weeks playing the closed alpha

After years of hearing about the unconventional sequel that is Overwatch 2, we've finally gotten the chance to play it. PC Gamer participated in a closed alpha period that spanned a few weeks and seemed to include everything that will be in next week's PvP beta. We got to try out a new hero, Sojourn, the new Push mode, a few new maps, a bunch of hero reworks, and the game's new 5v5 format. Watch our impressions above to hear mine and associate editor Tyler Colp's thoughts on Overwatch 2 and see new gameplay from our time in the alpha.

The closed alpha only included content from the PvP side of the game. A big chunk of Overwatch 2, the story-based PvE mode that Blizzard hasn't shown off in a long time, was unavailable.

It's also important to note that what we played on wasn't a "live" environment—while we did matchmake into games like usual, our opponents were limited to Blizzard employees, pro Overwatch players, other press members, and friends and family of Blizzard who were given access. We expect the game to feel quite a bit different once the beta starts next week.

We talk a lot about Sojourn in the video above, but if you're more of a words person, our dedicated Sojourn impressions go into more detail.

Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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