Blizzard Struggling With Massive Launch Day DDoS Attack

It’s never fun to launch a game and get hit by a massive Direct Denial of Service (DDoS) attack that same day, but that’s what Blizzard is facing today with its rollout of Overwatch 2, a game that is both more and less than a sequel.

“Teams are working hard on server issues with Overwatch 2,” Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra tweeted. “We are humbled by the excitement of players and will continue to focus on issues and get players into the fun! Thanks for your patience.”

Ybarra clarified: “Unfortunately we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers. Teams are working hard to mitigate/manage. This is causing a lot of drop/connection issues.”

The game launched into early access Tuesday as a free-to-play hero shooter replacing the original Overwatch entirely. The title ditches loot boxes in favor of Seasonal Battle passes and an Item Shop. When it’s not being hit hard by a DDoS attack, it’s cross-play meaning players on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC can all play together, which is nice. I’m looking forward to trying it out with my Call Of Duty group, though that may have to wait until this issue is resolved.

Issues with the game appear to have cropped up earlier this morning but only really kicked off around noon PT.

Hopefully Blizzard fixes this mess and players can get into the game soon. Stay tuned.