Overwatch 2 Will Launch With Cross-Progression, Here's How To Make Sure Your Account Is Ready

After years of fans longing for a way to merge their Overwatch profiles across various consoles, Blizzard is finally adding cross-progression to the popular first-person hero shooter. With the addition of this feature, players will gain access to all their in-game cosmetics and statistics regardless of what platform they are playing on. The merge will officially go into effect on October 4--the same day Overwatch 2 launches--though those looking to take advantage of cross-progression can enable the feature starting today.

Merging your various Overwatch accounts into one comprehensive profile is as simple as logging in using any one of the systems you play on. Once you are logged in, you should be immediately prompted to identify, select, and confirm the accounts you wish to merge. Players will be able to merge one account from each of the following platforms: Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Once you complete these steps, Blizzard will prepare your accounts for synchronization. Be warned, however, that if you do not go through the steps to merge your profiles when the game prompts you to, you will forfeit the ability to do so at a later date. Furthermore, once you merge a console account, you will be unable to link to a different console account on the same platform.

All players looking to merge their accounts must have a Battle.net account, which you should theoretically have already if you've previously played Overwatch. Once you elect to merge your accounts, all your cosmetics and progress across systems will be stored using on this account, which will then share the content across your system profiles.

After your accounts have been successfully merged, all in-game cosmetics you've accumulated while playing Overwatch will be waiting for you in your Hero Gallery; This includes all sprays, emotes, and skins. If you have any duplicate cosmetics, they will be merged into one item.

How your competitive ranking and overall statistics will be evaluated, however, is not quite as simple. Competitive and skill ratings will be separated by PC and console input pools, with the highest rank taken if players merge multiple console accounts. Credits, League Tokens, and total values--such as playtime or number of wins--will be combined from across profiles. Endorsements and best values--which includes hero accuracy and kill streaks--will take the highest value from the merged accounts. All in-game achievements earned across each platform will carry over to your merged account, though console-specific achievements will remain locked to their respective platforms.

For additional assistance merging your accounts, visit Blizzard's Account Link support article. If you are encountering errors while linking your accounts, Blizzard encourages you to read the instructions listed on their Account Link Common Problems support article. And, if you're looking for more information on Overwatch 2 and the changes coming to the base game, here's everything we know about the upcoming release.