Blizzard responds as DDoS attack causes Overwatch 2 server disconnect errors at launch

Overwatch 2 is finally here, but its launch day has been ruined by a massive DDoS attack that has pounded the servers.

On October 4, Overwatch 2, the long-awaited sequel to Blizzard’s hero shooter went live as a free-to-play title ushering in a new era of gameplay.

Sadly, the launch hasn’t exactly gone off without a hitch as players from all over the world have reported difficulties loading up the game, match disconnects, and plenty of other errors.

Luckily, these problems should be resolved soon with Blizzard explaining what’s going wrong in a post on the official forums.

[#OW2] We're aware that some players are encountering an Unexpected Server Error message when attempting to sign in. This is actively being worked on. Thank you for your patience!

— Blizzard CS – The Americas (@BlizzardCS) October 4, 2022

Overwatch 2 responds to server disconnect errors

On Twitter, Blizzard Customer Support responded to concerned fans by saying they’re aware of the situation.

“We’re aware that some players are encountering an Unexpected Server Error message when attempting to sign in. This is actively being worked on. Thank you for your patience!” they wrote.

Unfortunately we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers. Teams are working hard to mitigate/manage. This is causing a lot of drop/connection issues. https://t.co/4GwrfHEiBE

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 4, 2022

Blizzard President Mike Ybarra further explained that the culprit seems to be a DDoS attack on the servers.

“Unfortunately we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers. Teams are working hard to mitigate/manage. This is causing a lot of drop/connection issues,” he said.

On the forums, Community Manager Jodie provided a list of known issues including some problems players may not have even known about.

“Some players who merged their PC and console accounts are seeing an “Unexpected Server Error” and “Some players are experiencing server disconnects” were two of the main issues listed.

However, they did provide one big solution for players who have their required phone number already saved on another account.

“Using a number that is already in use on another account can leave the client in an unusable state. If you encounter this, close the title, log into the affected Battle Net account via web browser and change the number to one that is unique,” Blizzard advised.

We’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack. We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Thank you for your patience – we’ll share more info as it becomes available.

— Aaron Keller (@aaronkellerOW) October 5, 2022

Hours later and Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller provided a small update on the ongoing server issues. Allegedly, Blizzard is dealing with not one but two DDoS attacks. “We’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability,” he said. “We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night.”

Hopefully, Blizzard can get the issues under control and everything can join in on the new Overwatch 2 fun on both console and PC.