Preserve Your Hard-Earned Overwatch Progress in the Exciting Sequel
As an avid Overwatch player with over 500 hours logged, my heart skipped a beat when Blizzard announced Overwatch 2. A free-to-play sequel with revamped 5v5 gameplay, flashy new maps, and mythic-quality cosmetics? Sign me up! But I did have one pressing question – will all my unlocked skins, sprays, golden weapons and precious stats carry over? Thankfully, with a seamless account merge process, I can continue my Overwatch journey without losing years of progress.
Linking Your Accounts is a Breeze
The account merge process differs slightly across platforms, but only takes a few quick steps. As someone who plays on both Xbox and PC, I was relieved to find the instructions easy to follow.
Xbox Process
- Launch Overwatch 2 on your Xbox
- Sign in to your Xbox Live account that contains Overwatch 1 progress
- Scan the QR code on your TV using your phone‘s camera
- Create or sign in to your Battle.net account when prompted
- Your accounts are now linked for merge!
PlayStation Process
- Launch Overwatch 2 on PS4 or PS5
- Sign in to your Playstation Network account with OW1 progress
- Enter the on-screen pairing code manually on the Battle.net website
- Create or sign-in to your Battlenet account when prompted
- Your Playstation and Battle.net accounts are now connected
See Blizzard‘s official documentation for full details on linking console accounts.
Queue Up the Account Merge
Once linked, all that‘s left is waiting for the behind-the-scenes merge magic.
The first time loading into Overwatch 2, you‘ll be asked to confirm the account merge by holding X/A. Do so, and the process begins automatically. According to Blizzard, merges are handled server-side in a queue, so it may take minutes, hours or days depending on volume.
But the patience pays off – when complete, you‘ll receive an Account Merge Completed message along with immediate access to all your nostalgic Overwatch cosmetics and stats! As a bonus, original Overwatch owners also permanently unlock Kiriko.
Overwatch Popularity Soars to All-Time Highs
While waiting, I‘ve occupied my time watching Overwatch streams. And based on extremely high viewer counts, I‘m clearly not alone in eagerly awaiting my account merge!
According to Activision, Overwatch 2 already has over 25 million players – nearly tripling Overwatch‘s previous daily player peak. Of these millions of new and returning players, most want to carry forward their cosmetics collections and skill representations.
Jeff Kaplan would undoubtedly be proud to see the community growing even beyond his wildest expectations. Now we just need queued merges to complete so we can all enjoy our merged progress together!
What Exactly Carries Over?
As a visually-oriented gamer, my main concern was retaining my skins. Through years of seasonal events and special unlocks, I‘ve amassed over 150 unique skin variants – losing them would crush my spirit!
Thankfully, *all cosmetics make the move to OW2:
- Legendary, epic and rare skins
- Emotes and highlight intros
- Voice lines and sprays
- Player icons, badges and titles
As an added bonus, original Overwatch owners keep any OWL tokens and unlocked origin skins. My precious Atlantic Mercy and Jjonak Zenyatta are safe!
Beyond cosmetics, all major account data persists:
- Player level
- Competitive rank
- Statistics (eliminations, damage, healing, etc)
- Replays and match history
- Configuration settings
So gameplay-wise, it will feel like picking up exactly where I left off as I jump into OW2‘s new 5v5 format.
Comparing Core Game Elements
While waiting impatiently for my progression merge, I‘ve been closely analyzing Overwatch 2‘s updates. As a DPS/support flex player, I‘m intrigued by the shift to 5v5 matches. Here‘s a comparison of some key changes:
| Game Feature | Overwatch 1 | Overwatch 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Team Format | 6v6 | 5v5 |
| Tanks | 2 per team | Reduced to 1 |
| New Heroes | Echo, Sojourn + more! | Junker Queen, Kiriko + more! |
| New Maps | Havana, Busan + more! | New Queen Street, Midtown + more! |
| Core Game Modes | Escort, Assault, Hybrid | Push Mode added |
It‘s an exciting overhaul that should shake up team compositions, viability of heroes, and competitive metas. I‘m most interested to try out the highly-mobile Sojourn with her high-flying mobility and railgun damage.
Playing Overwatch 2 almost feels like a sequel rather than a major patch. But our merged cosmetics and stats will provide that sense of continuity with the game we‘ve poured so much passion into.
Now if only my merge would complete already…the anticipation is killing me! But with over 25 million players in queue, I‘ll try to remain patient. My OW1 skins await!
