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Blizzard Reveals Overwatch Rush, a Top-Down Mobile Spin on Its Hero Shooter

Blizzard Announces Overwatch Rush, A New Top Down Take On Hero Shooting

Blizzard introduced fans to Overwatch Rush today, a new top-down Hero shooter built from the ground up for mobile, set in the Overwatch universe.

Blizzard Entertainment has finally committed to bringing Overwatch to mobile, just not the way many fans have expected. Introducing Overwatch Rush, a brand new title that brings top-down shooting to the hero multiplayer genre in 4v4 team-based skirmishes. Not unlike how Helldivers went from top-down perspective to third-person in Helldivers 2, Overwatch is doing the opposite. Overwatch Rush takes the first-person hero shooter action to a new perspective, from behind the barrel to overhead in a top-down hero shooter that resembles a team-based MOBA.

As of this reveal, there is no genuine port of Overwatch on mobile, and this new title is not developed by the veteran Team 4 development studio (which is responsible for developing Overwatch and Overwatch 2). A new gameplay preview to show players what’s behind the curtain has been released for Rush, and it can be seen below.

Eagle-eyed fans may have spotted the likes of Tracer, Soldier: 76, Reinhardt, Reaper, Mercy, Lucio, and Pharah, so while Overwatch Rush is bringing a new perspective to the hero shooter, instantly recognizable heroes from the base experience are making their way over to Rush. Each of the characters (as shown in the trailer) appears to don their typical power loadout. Tracer can be seen traversing away from trouble with the Blink ability, and Reinhardt can deploy a mega Barrier Field. Although there is a new perspective, the heroes of Overwatch translate to the new top-down fields of battle faithfully.

Blizzard Announces Overwatch Rush, A New Top Down Take On Hero Shooting

Overwatch Rush is being developed by a team separate from the usual Team 4, and they’re using “Limited Geo Tests” to gather player feedback on how to improve the title. For future playtests, fans can sign up for the officialOverwatch Rush Discord here for announcements, as the new title is built “with our community in mind,” and player feedback will help shape Overwatch Rush. Like the base Overwatch experience, Rush is a free-to-play title with optional in-app purchases, and it will not have controller support (yet).

While still in development, Blizzard Entertainment has not given a window for the new mobile title’s launch, so fans will have to wait until more information comes out.

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Destiny 2's next big update has been delayed so it can undergo "large revisions" so large and revisiony it'll need a new name

The next big update to Destiny 2, Shadow and Order, has been delayed as it undergoes a substantial round of tweakage and expansion. Such a substantial round of tweakage and expansion, in fact, that it'll no longer be called Shadow and Order when it returns.

Read more

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The MOP Up: Star Trek Online’s Chimerans start adapting — and that’s bad news for you

Star Trek Online’s Chimerans prove to be more adaptive foes after this past week’s patch: “You will now see them gaining resistance to all damage types, once per damage type they receive.” Yeah, good luck with that you non-adapting space captains! And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a […]
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One Shots: Poetry slam at the bear café

Maybe a poetry recitation is a pretty dull affair if you stumble into one at a coffeehouse in real life, but in Project Gorgon, it’s the social event of the week that draws all the partiers — and giant glowing green bears — to slam down some lyrics and boost some skills. There once was […]
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Casually Classic: WoW Classic is all about the chill, not the thrill

In the Venn diagram comparing WoW Classic and Lord of the Rings Online, there’s a large overlapping section that simply says “chill gameplay.” And that’s probably why I appreciate both titles: because they feed that need I have to slow down, drink in the game world, and focus on a long leveling journey with no […]
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Fans and game devs debate Diablo II Resurrected’s recently added Warlock and its impact

You would think that adding an all-new class to an old game like Diablo II: Resurrected would be a happy event, but then you also likely have never experienced ARPG players in public forums and subreddits, who primarily appear to be the angriest of human calculators. That appears to be the case among players of the game, […]
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WoW Classic has begun testing Mists of Pandaria’s Escalation campaign

Just because there’s a big question mark looming over the long-term future of 2019’s WoW Classic doesn’t mean that there aren’t things to do in the meanwhile. Adventurers going through the Mists of Pandaria expansion can look forward to Escalation coming out soon, especially considering that it went up on the PTR this week. “The […]
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Vague Patch Notes: MMORPGs are less different than you think

Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken was published in August of 1915, and it has endured an immense popularity since then. Many people can quote the last couplet of the poem (“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”), and for years the title alone conjures images of […]
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World of Warcraft’s Midnight info blitz continues with launch, raid, and delve schedules

We’ve been chuckling in the Massively OP office over Blizzard’s insanely packed infodump that it’s been doing this week for World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion. Instead of one or maybe two items per day, it’s been a minimum of four rushed posts, and last night was no exception. The infodump period may be winding down, […]
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Massively Overthinking: If you could delete one class or skill from your favorite MMORPG…

This week’s Massively Overthinking is inspired by a tweet I saw from SMITE, of all games, where the Hi-Rez devs asked players to propose one god to delete from the game. Obviously, this is not a serious proposition, but in the aggregate, the answers can kinda show a trend in what people are tired of, […]
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NCsoft’s ‘time survival’ shooter Time Takers opens NA and SA signups for March 12 beta

Hey, remember Time Takers? Probably not, so here’s a recap: NCsoft announced it’d be publishing a “time survival” shooter back at the end of 2024, and last summer at Gamescom, it revealed the game as Time Takers. It sort of got overshadowed because NCsoft announced Cinder City (an actual MMO shooter) at the same show, […]
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World of Warcraft hypes up next week’s Midnight early access with previews of its Prey system and Haranir race

There’s a lot to wrap your head around in regard to World of Warcraft’s upcoming Midnight expansion, including what’s the deal with its new allied race and Prey system. Fortunately for us, Blizzard posted a couple of informative overviews of both of these features in case you’re a little behind the curve. The Haranir allied […]
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MMO Hype Train: ArcheAge Chronicles, Chrono Odyssey, and dealing with MMORPG delays

We’ve all been there. You’re dragging yourself through another so-so gaming year, playing the same old titles, all while telling yourself that it’s about to get a lot more interesting, because a game you’ve been eyeing should come out before too long. And almost as if you jinxed a cosmic trickster, the next day you […]
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Best Overwatch settings for optimized PC performance

What are the best Overwatch settings? It's important to set yourself up using the most optimal settings for Overwatch to ensure your game runs perfectly. Not only will these settings reduce visual clutter, but having a consistent frame rate will help you even in the most intense fights where ultimates are going off every few seconds. We've picked out the Overwatch settings to both maximize your performance and eliminate any unnecessary graphical effects that could stop you from landing crucial shots. Of course, owning one of the best graphics card picks from our buying guide will undoubtedly help you achieve rock-solid performance in the multiplayer game, so check those out if you're experiencing any issues while playing Overwatch.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Best Overwatch settings for optimized PC performance

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Overwatch battle pass - all Season 1 rewards

What rewards are in the Overwatch battle pass? The launch of a new Overwatch season brings about a fresh battle pass to work through, offering rewards in the form of loot boxes, skins, and much more. You don't have to pay for the battle pass to earn rewards, but if you do, the rewards on offer are considerably better than what you get for free. The Overwatch skins offered in the battle pass can't be purchased in the shop; if you don't earn them in the battle pass, you will miss out on them forever. Join us as we break down everything in the Overwatch Season 1 battle pass, from the cost of the premium battle pass to the exclusive skins you can earn over the next two months in the free PC game.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Overwatch battle pass - all Season 1 rewards

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Overwatch crossplay or cross-platform explained

Want to play Overwatch crossplay? When Overwatch originally launched in 2016, the idea of supporting crossplay, let alone cross-platform progression, was almost unheard of. Fortunately, things have changed considerably across the gaming landscape, making it easier than ever to play with your friends across a variety of platforms. With players flooding back to Overwatch, it's important to know about some of the changes made to crossplay and cross-progression since these features were first introduced. No matter how you'd prefer to utilize the Overwatch crossplay and cross-progression features in the free PC game, here's everything you need to know to get it up and running.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Overwatch crossplay or cross-platform explained

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Italy to Investigate Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile for “Dark Patterns”

The Italian antitrust regulator, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercat (AGCM), has launched an investigation into Activision Blizzard. It suspects that the company may have violated consumer protection laws.

More details: https://gameworldobserver.com/2026/01/19/italy-to-investigate-diablo-immortal-and-call-of-duty-mobile-for-dark-patterns

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Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It

Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It

Back in 2023, a (slightly) more innocent time before Microsoft ravaged its games studios with layoffs and made itself into a BDS priority target, Blizzard held a competition: To promote Diablo IV’s second season, it raffled off a PC "infused with real human blood in its liquid cooling" as part of a blood drive seeking 666 quarts of the red goop that keeps us all alive. I was desperate to know more. How much blood? Whose blood? Can blood reliably and sustainably cool a PC? And, again, whose blood?

At the time, answers proved elusive. Blizzard PR failed to reply to my requests for additional details, and a person I reached out to at Corsair – an expert, albeit not with regard to this particular PC – did not seem interested in discussing the infernal blood engine’s more theoretical aspects. So, dejected, I called off the hunt. But then, last week, via the replies to a Bluesky post by freelance writer (and occasional Aftermath contributor) Jay Castello, I learned that the winner of the competition had semi-recently surfaced on Reddit. Once again, the game was afoot. 

I Won The Blood PC (Yes, The One From Season 2) AMA!
by u/Storms888 in diablo4

Turns out, Blizzard’s diabolical blood PC went to a streamer who goes by the handle Storms888. He received it at the tail end of November 2023, and – despite or perhaps because of the blood – it’s still going strong.  

“The PC is virtually perfect,” Storms888 told Aftermath. “I haven't seen any drops in performance since the day I got it. … It’s incredible for streaming/recording. Right now I've been streaming Battlefield 6 at ultra settings with easily over 200+ [frames per second].”

Unsurprisingly, given that pure, thick, coagulation-prone blood seems like it’d be an awful coolant, there’s probably some smoke and mirrors happening here.

“It appears that the coolant is mostly regular standard coolant and that they had added red blood cells inside of it,” said Storms888. “They did not specify what the ratio was, but it's dark red.”

Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It
Storms888

Whose blood, though? Sadly, that, much like blood, is unclear. 

"There is not [information about who exactly the blood came from]," Storms888 said. "There was a donor slip that specifically said it was a confirmed blood sample/donation, but that was all."

But OK, say something goes wrong, or the blood-tinged coolant loses its luster, as all things do with time? Don’t worry: Blizzard thought of that.

“[Blizzard] did not specify any need to replace it,” said Storms888, “although they did give me a replacement vial/bottle of blood. ... This did leak a ton though. I had to put the bottle in a separate bag.”

For reasons that probably should be obvious by now, upgrading the blood PC is out of the question.

“I have not upgraded it,” said Storms888, “and yes, the custom nature of it does play a role. I don't want to change any aspect of it for the novelty factor – would love to give this to my future kids some day – as well as the technical limitations, since the CPU and GPU have custom water blocks mounted on them, and I'm not experienced with messing with those.”

But Storms888 also doesn’t think he’ll need to start thinking about buying a boring, bloodless PC any time soon.

“I will keep using it until a [Nvidia] 4090 [graphics card] and [Intel] 14900k [processor] are no longer serviceable for modern games. So I assume at least for the next 7-10 years,” he joked. “Overall I am still shocked to this day that I won it. The majority of my life I've had absolutely terrible computers. … This genuinely has been a life-changing experience, and it's opened up so many doors for me professionally with streaming.”

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Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It
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What we've been playing - "I'll never see those oaty treats in the mess the same way again"

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we've been playing. This week, Victoria knows something her husband doesn't; Tom endures the perennial terror known as entertaining a child over half-term; Bertie realises he's missed something important again; and Will makes mech combat somehow sound rather fun.

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