Blizzard has announced it is bringing a selection of its games to Steam, beginning next month with Overwatch 2.
Steam is a popular cross-platform video game platform that gives users a central place to access and play their games. Blizzard has traditionally shunned such third-party platforms, instead tying its games to its own Battle.net.
In a blog post, however, the company says it is “trying something new,” bringing Overwatch 2 to Steam on August 10. The company says it will bring a selection of its other games as well, although it did not specify which ones.
“It’s our goal at Blizzard to listen to players and try to exceed their expectations in everything we do,” said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “While Battle.net remains a priority for us now and into the future, we’ve heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games, starting with Overwatch 2 on August 10th. We’re happy to work with Valve to make that happen.”
“Gamers and developers are both going to benefit from Overwatch 2 coming to Steam,” said Gabe Newell, Valve’s president. “Gamers will have another platform where they can play a beloved game that utilizes the capabilities of Steam, and developers will benefit from the effects of having the talented team at Blizzard helping us evolve our supported features and functionality for Overwatch 2.”
Blizzard attributed its decision to a changing video game landscape:
Battle.net is the home of all our PC players, and over the years, we’ve evolved our platform to support updated technologies, capabilities, and our communities’ expectations. But as we’ve evolved, the industry has evolved too–gaming is no longer just for specific communities as it was when Battle.net launched over two decades ago, gaming is for everyone–and though we remain committed to continually investing in and supporting Battle.net, we want to break down the barriers to make it easier for players everywhere to find and enjoy our games.
The company does say that Steam players will still need a Battle.net account to play, however.
