Play Overwatch for Free Nov. 18-21

For those who have not boarded the Overwatch train yet, don’t worry. Your time is coming soon. Blizzard’s hugely popular, vibrant team-based shooter is going to be free to play during the weekend of November 18-22 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.

During these dates, players will have access to the whole lineup of Overwatch heroes, including fan favorites such as Tracer, Mei, and Mercy. The game’s new hero, Sombra, however, will not be playable during this free period.

Overwatch hero, Tracer.

People who download the game for the free weekend will also be able to play through all of the game’s thirteen maps and several modes of play, including Quick Play, vs. AI, and Custom Games. Should players want to actually purchase Overwatch after the free play weekend is over, rest assured that any level ups, achievements, or loot boxes that were acquired during the trial will transfer over.

While this upcoming weekend is great for people who have yet to play the game, there is still a slight catch. Downloading Overwatch won’t be as simple as going into the PlayStation store and adding it to your queue. To completely play for free, you must first have PlayStation Plus, or an Xbox Live Gold membership, depending on your respective console. Those participating online will have to have their Battlenet account.

Free-weekend Overwatch map.

The free weekend will begin at 11AM PT /2PM EST on November 18, and according to Blizzard, the game will take up 12GB. That may sound like an inconsequential amount of space right now, but given some of the other games that will be released before the 18th (not to mention the ones you undoubtedly have on your console already), you should give yourself time to plan your storage management accordingly.

Stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for more Overwatch news!

Tori Morrow

Tori is a writer and gamer originally from Vault 111, but now she resides in Chicago. She has an MFA in creative writing-fiction, runs primarily on coffee, and is an expert on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Follow her on Twitter @torithatnerd.