Blizzard has confirmed the schedule for its planned Double XP weekends in Overwatch 2. Overwatch 2's launch has been massively successful, but not without its issues. The free-to-play game has amassed over 25 million players, but servers have struggled under the burden of the player population in tandem with DDoS attacks. Blizzard has worked tirelessly to solve the Overwatch 2 problems, but also it has acknowledged that players deserve to be rewarded for their patience.
Server issues continue to be a day-to-day problem in Overwatch 2, but not to the degree that there were problems immediately after launch. Matchmaking times continue to be lengthy and ping can suffer as players are shifted to servers far away. That's better than login queues, disconnects, and being perma-stuck in Bronze 5 in Overwatch 2, though. Having a hard time logging in and playing matches means lost Battle Pass progression, though, and Blizzard certainly doesn't want its monetization to falter.
According to a Blizzard press release, three Double XP weekends are going to be held as a reward for players going through a challenging launch. Overall, the three weekends will offer a total of nine full days of Double XP being enabled. The first weekend runs from October 21 through October 24, the second from October 28 through October 31, and the third from November 24 through November 28. All weekends start and end at 2:00 PM ET on the given date.
As for why the Double XP weekends aren't starting now, no specific reason was provided. It's easy to assume why, however. Starting a Double XP weekend now while Overwatch 2 is still dealing with lingering server issues could exacerbate the problem. Plus, the further Blizzard pushes the Double XP weekends out the more likely Overwatch 2 players will be to stick around for an extended period of time rather than find another game to play.
Given the success of Overwatch 2's launch, it's no surprise that the game has had server issues throughout its launch. What is surprising is how quickly Blizzard has addressed those issues. The game has been available just over a week, and it's starting to feel like things are stabilizing, though there's certainly room for improvement.
The Double XP weekends won't solve player frustrations with Overwatch 2's server issues. Blizzard may even have had these Double XP weekends planned all along, just because they incentivize playing more and get players invested in Overwatch 2's battle pass system. Blizzard just needs more time to put its best foot forward. Overwatch 2 will have to stand on its own from there.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.