In a flurry of well circulated rumors, it appears Blizzard’s highly anticipated team-based shooter Overwatch will be coming not just to the PC, but also to consoles as well–specifically speaking the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. While Blizzard initially attempted to play coy, neither confirming nor denying the possibility of console release, it appears Gamestop spilled the beans after announcing that they were accepting pre-orders for Overwatch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, rousing much suspicion online. Kotaku was the first to break the news on this Overwatch update. Jason Schreier claiming to have personally confirmed with Gamestop store officials. IGN also tried their hand at contacting both Gamestop and Blizzard, inducing an unsurprisingly mysterious response from Blizzard: “We are excited to share more information about Overwatch with everyone at BlizzCon this weekend – so be sure to tune in to the opening ceremonies for free at www.BlizzCon.com.”
Not long after Gamestop’s apparent media faux-pas (perhaps being a little too chatty for Blizzard’s taste on the eve of their annual powerhouse convention, Blizzcon, held Nov 6-7 in Anaheim, CA), Blizzard it seems threw their arms up in the air with an official statement on Battle.net, seen below.
Alongside this, Blizzard also announced a tentative launch date of June 21st, 2016–for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Pre-orders via Gamestop are rumored to be priced at $60.00 USD. Many are casting a little side eye at this, however, as it’s generally thought that Overwatch will be free to play, following Blizzard’s history with Heroes of the Storm, and inevitable competition with free to play Valve titan Team Fortress 2.
All should be made clear tomorrow with Blizzcon and its many surprises. Blizzard promises announcements from everything from StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void to the highly coveted Warcraft movie trailer. Virtual tickets to live stream the epic event are selling at $39.99 USD through Blizzard’s Battle.net shop, and will perhaps enable many fans to get to the bottom of this mystery.