Overwatch Will Be Free For A Whole Month! In China.

Blizzard announced that its hero shooter Overwatch will be free for a full 30 days but only if you live in a country where the capital is Beijing. That's right. From May 1st to May 31st Chinese players can try out all of Overwatch's heroes, all the maps, and all the game modes, including competitive play.

We've had free weekends in the West, but nothing as extensive as a month. There's probably a reason for that. Overwatch is already insanely popular here: almost everyone I know owns a copy of the game, even though they may not play anymore.

Overwatch faces tougher competition in the Chinese market, where many older games still hold a large margin of the overall playerbase. And simpler, more accessible titles are still widely played. Why would someone pay money to play a game when there are so many free-to-play alternatives that are also popular? Overwatch's free month in China is a way to capture a portion of those players.

Maybe one of these days we'll see a similar promotion in the West.

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