Overwatch 2 launch marred by multiple DDoS attacks

When a highly anticipated online game launches, unforeseen server capacity issues and long entry queues are nothing out of the ordinary. In the case of this week's Overwatch 2 early access launch, though, the usual crowding problems are apparently being exacerbated by coordinated distributed denial of service attacks.

On Tuesday evening, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra issued a generic tweet warning that "Teams are working hard on server issues with Overwatch 2." Less than an hour later, though, he followed up with some more worrying specifics. "Unfortunately we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers," he said. "Teams are working hard to mitigate/manage. This is causing a lot of drop/connection issues."

Overnight, Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller posted an update saying that "we’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack. We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Thank you for your patience—we’ll share more info as it becomes available."

On top of any DDoS-related problems, Blizzard is also acknowledging that "some players are experiencing server disconnects" and "some players who merged their PC and console accounts are seeing an 'Unexpected Server Error'" in the game's early hours.

Potential players across the Internet are posting reports of hours-long wait times to get in a game and server queues with tens of thousands of people. The situation is unsurprisingly leading to plenty of jokes and memes as well. Former Gears of War and Jazz Jackrabbit developer Cliff Bleszinski got in on the act, tweeting that "Unexpected Server Error Occurred" can apparently serve as the game's subtitle.

Overwatch 2 has a subtitle, apparently. pic.twitter.com/5gPYp62MMq

— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) October 5, 2022

"Yes, this is petty, as that game steamrolled over mine," Bleszinski added, referring to the failure of 2017's Lawbreakers. "And I know how hard it is to launch an online game, but, still... I giggled."

Overwatch 2 was first announced at Blizzcon back in 2019. Last year, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said the game would not hit a planned 2022 release amid "increased competition... and higher voluntary turnover" among employees. At the time, though, Blizzard suggested that it is "still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content... next year."

Amid two successful Overwatch 2 beta tests earlier this year, the game was taken up by the esports Overwatch League for high-level competitive play. Blizzard announced the game's October 4 early access launch in June.