Overwatch: Legendary Edition comes to Nintendo Switch next month

Heroes never die. They simply appear on additional platforms. Following rampant speculation the past few months, Nintendo has finally confirmed that Blizzard's massively popular hero-based online shooter Overwatch is finally coming to Nintendo Switch ($299; amazon.com). Best Buy is taking preorders, but we expect more retailers to follow suit.

Overwatch: Legendary Edition for Nintendo Switch ($39.99; bestbuy.com)

You can purchase a copy of Overwatch with a normal case, but it will come with a product voucher instead of a Nintendo Switch game card. Preordering the game will net you a special Noire Widowmaker skin that's only available for a limited time, though Nintendo hasn't indicated how long it will be up for grabs.

Buyers will also get three free months of the Nintendo Switch Online service for free, which represents about $7.99 in savings. Nintendo Switch Online is required if you want to play Overwatch, as there are no offline modes to play solo. It's $19.99 for a year, which makes it the cheapest out of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch's online subscription accounts.

Overwatch pits players against one another in team-based battles played online throughout different game modes. There are 31 characters to choose from, all of who are unlocked from the beginning to make it simpler for players to choose their "main."

The game doesn't follow the same free-to-play structure as titles like Fortnite, but it includes loot boxes that can either be earned or purchased with real money to unlock skins, sprays, voice lines and other items for cosmetic purposes.

Overwatch making its way to the Switch comes as something of a surprise, especially as game director Jeff Kaplan mused in a 2017 interview that porting the game to the system would be "challenging," but the studio was certainly open to try. After porting Diablo 3 to the Switch, it looks like the stars aligned to bring the shooter to the handheld, which should delight fans.

Rumors had swirled that Overwatch would make its Switch debut following a retail listing for an Overwatch-themed Switch carrying case that appeared on Amazon and was subsequently pulled. Now that the news is official, it's time to start counting down the days until Oct. 15, when Overwatch finally will be available on every platform except for mobile devices. But knowing how successful games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite have been, that may not be too far off.

Note: The prices above reflect the retailer's listed prices at the time of publication

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