Overwatch 2 asks new players to unlock characters over 100 matches
Retracer your steps.
Players new to the Overwatch series will slowly unlock its character roster over the course of 100 Overwatch 2 matches, Blizzard has revealed.
The upcoming sequel's First Time User Experience (FTUE) will also see players "rapidly" unlock game modes and the ability to chat in-game.
Blizzard has said this FTUE has been designed to introduce newcomers to the game's many characters, systems and modes in an approachable way - without disadvantaging those who have played already.
Indeed, Blizzard's suggestion is this gating of content will actually benefit veteran players, as it will stop newbies being matched with experienced teammates, and cut down on the ease in which cheaters can simply create new accounts.
Most of these restrictions will be lifted when playing with others who do have access - except for entry into the game's Competitive mode, which will require 50 Quick Play wins.
"FTUE was designed to make Overwatch 2 a welcoming, approachable, and fun game for everyone who chooses to play," Blizzard wrote. "This experience only affects accounts made on or after the October 4 release date: anyone who played prior, as well as Watchpoint Pack owners, will not have to play through the First Time User Experience."
The details are included in a dense blog post designed to promote Blizzard's desire to protect the game from cheating and misuse, via a snazzy-sounding but vague initiative named Defense Matrix, and the addition of two-factor authentication via mobile phone text.
Further down, Blizzard reveals it will begin using audio transcription software to record voice chat of "reported" players and analyse it for bad behaviour. Players should report disruptive behaviour as soon as possible so this system kicks in, Blizzard says. Text files are then kept for a maximum of 30 days before being deleted.
There's also word of new features being added (such as a ping system) and taken away (such as the game's general chat in menus).