The Overwatch 2 closed beta is set to begin soon, starting at 1pm CT on Tuesday, April 26 and running through May 17. During this three-week period, invited players will be able to experience the highly-anticipated sequel’s PvP mode, along with the new hero Sojourn and the new hero reworks and maps to be added.
Unfortunately, not everyone who applied for access is going to get in. Players can get a chance to join via the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta Twitch drops campaign, but it’s only during a limited time frame on April 27.
Here’s how to get your Overwatch 2 beta drop through Twitch.
Link your Battle.net and Twitch accounts
Make sure your Battle.net and Twitch accounts are linked before watching on April 27. If you’re an experienced Overwatch player who watches Twitch, your account is already likely linked from claiming Prime Gaming Loot. Otherwise, go to your Twitch account settings and go to Connections, then follow the instructions to link your Battle.net and Twitch account.
Your Battle.net account must have an Overwatch license associated with it to redeem a beta drop. If you don’t own Overwatch, you can acquire the free trial for it that will become available when the Overwatch 2 closed beta goes live.
Watch a partnered streamer for four hours
Viewers will become eligible for a closed beta drop through Twitch after watching a partnered streamer play for four hours, but only during the times of 12pm CT and 8pm CT on April 27. Big names like xQc, Pokimane, PeterPark, AnneMunition, and others will be participating, as well as prominent names in the Overwatch community such as OWL casting duo LegDay and LemonKiwi. You can also watch the official PlayOverwatch channel.
A list of all partnered streamers can be found here, and your four hours of time will accrue no matter what stream you’re watching, so you don’t have to watch just one person for all four hours.
How to access the beta
Once you redeem access to the beta via the Twitch drop, you will need to install the game via Battle.net. Once it’s installed, you can navigate to the Game Version drop-down menu and select “Overwatch 2 Technical Beta.”
As a reminder, the closed beta runs until May 17.
