Blizzard is extending the Open Beta for Overwatch by an additional 24 hours, keeping the ongoing beta's servers running up until May 10 at 10:00 AM PDT.

The Overwatch addiction has claimed thousands in recent months. Through those lucky enough to be invited to the Closed Beta, others who watched matches on Twitch's streams, or the horde that has started playing with the launch of the Open Beta, Overwatch is a guaranteed instant success when it launches.

Before launch, however, comes a lonely two-week period where the game's beta servers will go down and no one will be allowed to play. Empathizing with our pain, Blizzard's doing what can be done to make that wait a little bit shorter.

Blizzard has announced that it will extend the Overwatch beta for an additional 24 hours, pushing back the previously planned May 9 end date for the Open Beta. Instead of ending on May 9 at 10:00 AM PDT, the Open Beta now ends on May 10 at 10:00 AM PDT. It also means that instead of waiting 15 days, Overwatch fans will only have to wait 14 days until the game's release date.

For those who might not be aware, Overwatch is currently available to download and play on PC, Xbox One (requires Xbox Live), and PlayStation 4 for free. While none of the progress players make during the beta, whether it be levels or item unlocks, will carry forward into launch, every ounce of experience with the game's healthy roster means players will be that much more prepared when Ranked Play releases. Here's to 24 more hours of potential experience.

It's an increasingly common event for betas to be extended by at least one or two days anymore. There are several very good reasons for this. The simplest is that it provides the developer additional time to test their servers under launch-like conditions.

The more likely reasons these days all revolve around marketing. Not only is extending a beta a great way to win over the community, but it's also a great way to capitalize on additional sales driven by the beta. If sales continue to increase over the course of a beta, then why not push for another day of those increases rates?

Ultimately the reason why a beta is extended shouldn't matter too much, but the end result for consumers is the same: more game time. And in most cases, everyone appreciates a little more time with an exciting new game.

Overwatch releases May 24, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The Open Beta is live right now across all three platforms and will run through May 10, ending at 10:00 AM PDT.