Jeff Kaplan reveals plans for Overwatch 2 closed and open betas

Blizzard unveiled loads of new information about Overwatch 2 at BlizzConline, and while the game appears to be shaping up quite well, no release date was announced. Still, players could be getting their hands on it beforehand in the form of betas.

For a proper sequel, as is the case with Overwatch 2, letting players try out the game for themselves en masse can be a major help when it comes to balance and fine-tuning the experience.

Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan was asked about the roadmap for the game and if players can expect a closed beta.

Luckily, he seems pretty optimistic that it will happen, but the ‘when’ still remains up in the air.

“What’s most likely going to happen… we’ve already been having internal milestones, where those have been extended playtests and have involved people outside of just our team playing the game,” Kaplan told IGN.

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From there, he expects there will be an internal alpha build for a while that will be more under wraps, with nothing really being talked about publicly.

However, he believes it’s “very likely” the game will transition to a closed beta that will be “more in the public eye.”

This is very good news for fans, as his wording implies that they’ll be able to either play it themselves or see a lot of the sequel’s gameplay first-hand – that is, if they’re able to get access.

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Unfortunately, for anyone hoping for an open beta, Jeff says it’s still not determined if that will happen.

The lack of an open beta could be good news, though, especially if the team doesn’t believe it needs to happen before release.

Jeff did also say that the team won’t be going as dark as they had after BlizzCon 2019, so hopefully we get a lot more news about the sequel’s development, new additions, heroes and more leading up to a closed beta.

While there may not be any news on when that closed beta will be happening, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any information in the months ahead.