Overwatch Rush is a brand new mobile title from Blizzard that it describes as an “entirely new game – not a port.”
The original Overwatch has seen somewhat of a resurgence in recent weeks, thanks to an overhaul of the nearly 10-year-old hero shooter that saw it lose the “2” from its title, add five new heroes, and revamp its menus and approach to storytelling. And it seems Blizzard isn’t keen on letting that momentum slip anytime soon, with the announcement of the whole new game.
Overwatch Rush is a “top-down hero shooter designed specifically for mobile set in the Overwatch universe” that is crucially not just a port of the PC and console game, but its own project being crafted by the Diablo and Warcraft studio.
“Overwatch Rush is being developed by a dedicated team at Blizzard, separate from Team 4, all of whom have deep mobile experience,” a press release states. “Team 4 remains fully focused on Overwatch, which will continue to bring exciting and fresh new experiences for PC and console players in its recently launched Season 1 and beyond!”
A short previewvideo showcasing early development gameplay has also been shared, which shows that classic Overwatch action from a new perspective, as the camera hovers above fan-favorite heroes like Mercy, Reinhardt, and Tracer as they compete on the South Korean Busan map.
A control scheme can also be seen on screen, suggesting that your left finger will be used to control the movement of these characters, while their primary fire and skill buttons sit to the right of the frame. From this early glimpse, it certainly looks like Overwatch’s frantic 5v5 action, albeit at a slightly more casual pace.
Updates on the project are promised soon, with Blizzard going on to confirm that “as we prepare for testing Overwatch Rush in select countries and regions, check out our official Discord server for updates on the game.
“While there remains a lot of work to do, we’re eager to see how players enjoy what we’ve built so far, and to hear from them on what we should focus on in the coming phases of development. Our mission is to continue to expand the Overwatch universe by bringing fresh new adventures to players across all platforms. We’ll continue to keep you updated on how things are progressing.”
I, personally, haven’t stopped playing Overwatch ever since my beloved Domina entered the game a couple of weeks ago, so if I’m given the opportunity to carry on playing when I’m out of the house, it really could cause trouble for me. What do you think of Overwatch Rush? Let us know in the comments!
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
