Overwatch Open Beta Launches May 4th, Early Access Starts Tonight

Overwatch's Early Access and Open Beta launch schedule has officially been announced. Early Access will begin several hours ahead of what we expected at 4 PM PDT tonight. The Open Beta itself will begin at 4 PM PDT on May 4th. The Open Beta will come to a close on May 9th.

Each phase will launch simultaneously around the globe. The images embedded below show each phase's launch times.

In preparation for the Open Beta, the game can now be downloaded by Early Access participants via the Battle.net client on PC, the PlayStation Network on PS4, and Xbox Live on Xbox One. Everyone else will be able to download it at a later time.

The Open Beta will contain all of the game's content, but no progress will carry over to launch. An Xbox Live membership will be required for Xbox One users. A PlayStation Plus membership will not be required during Open Beta, but it will be required at launch.