Play Overwatch for Free on PS4, Xbox One, and PC This Weekend [UPDATE]

[UPDATE] With the release of Sombra on all platforms today, the teleporting hacker character will now be included in the upcoming free weekend.

Original story: Overwatch developer Blizzard announced a free weekend for its first-person shooter on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It lasts from November 18 at 11 AM PT to November 21 at 4 PM PT.

Anyone who plays next weekend will get the opportunity to play modes like Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Weekly Brawl on all 13 maps with the full 22-hero roster. The newest hero Sombra, who is available in the PTR on PC, will not be playable during the free weekend. You can see the free weekend's start times across the world below.

Blizzard added that you'll be able to level up, earn Loot Boxes, and unlock items, and if you want to keep your progress, you can purchase a copy of Overwatch and continue playing. All you need to do is make sure to purchase the game with the same PSN, Xbox Live, or Battle.net account. No discounts on Overwatch were announced.

The approximate download size of the free weekend's client is 12 GB, and you'll need PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold to take part on consoles. And while progression does carry over, Trophies and Achievements are disabled for free weekend players.

You can see instructions on how to download the free weekend trial provided by Blizzard at the bottom of this article.

Gallery

Blizzard's annual convention, BlizzCon, took place this past weekend, and there were a bunch of Overwatch announcements. In addition to new character Sombra, whose skins you can see here, a new "Arcade" section of the Play menu was revealed. It replaces Weekly Brawls on the menu and features a bunch of unique modes including 1v1 Mystery Duel, 3v3 Elimination, and 6v6 Mystery Heroes.

Additionally, we got the opportunity to talk to Blizzard about Sombra starting out overpowered and how the developer balanced her to work with the rest of the roster.

PS4

1. Turn on your PlayStation 4 and log in to your preferred local user
2. Go to PlayStation Store and select "Search" from the top menu
3. In the search field, type in "Overwatch"
4. Select "Overwatch Free Weekend" from the search results and then click "Download"
5. Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Start" to begin

Xbox One

1. Turn on your Xbox One and log in to your Xbox Live account
2. Go to the Xbox One Store, then select "Search"
3. In the search field, type in "Overwatch"
4. Select "Overwatch: Origins Edition" from the search results and then click "Free Trial"
5. Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Launch" to begin

PC

1. Download and install the Battle.net desktop app, if you haven't already, and launch it
2. Create a free Battle.net account, or log in with an existing account
3. Click the "Overwatch" icon, located on the left-hand side of the Battle.net desktop app
4. Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click "Install" to begin the installation process
5. Once installed, click "Play" to begin