Overwatch 2 esports gets major upgrades in 2026: “It gives me chills whenever I think about it.”

Ahead of the new year, Blizzard Entertainment revealed what to expect in the Overwatch Champion Series (OWCS) 2026 circuit. The OWCS 2026 roadmap features the Partner Program, the Pre-Season Bootcamp, and regional stages. Folks can also look forward to the collegiate esports scene plus the Overwatch World Cup (OWWC).

In 2026, Overwatch 2 teams will compete in regional stages across China, North America (NA), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia. Each stage will determine which top teams advance to the global live event.

At the time of publishing this article, Blizzard Entertainment hasn't revealed all the details yet. However, we'll keep you updated in our Overwatch 2 section throughout 2026.

"We’ll be revealing the new season format soon, so stay tuned to Overwatch socials to catch all the exciting details on the way," Blizzard Entertainment stated.

The new year will also see the return of the OWCS Partner Program. This program will expand from nine to 11 Overwatch 2 esports teams, with OWCS China teams also joining the lineup and pushing the total beyond 11.

Next, players can look forward to the OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp. This will be a new addition to the Overwatch 2 esports ecosystem. According to Blizzard Entertainment, the aforementioned Partner Teams will get to train Seoul, Korea in February thanks to this program. In an interview with esports.gg, Craig Cheon, the Overwatch 2 esports product lead for the APAC region, shared that this location choice will foster a higher level of competition as well.

"Korea is the home of esports," Cheon said, adding that there will be professional setups for the Partner Teams. "So they will have the opportunity to practice and have scrimmages in Korea with very minimum latency -- because Korea has a really good internet system. They will have a really good opportunity to practice with each other. Outside of that, Korea's culture will be really interesting for them."

Fernando Escamilla Valdez, the Overwatch World Cup product lead and the product operations lead of Overwatch 2 esports, also shared his thoughts about the OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp program with esports.gg.

"That's actually one of the things that we're most excited about next year," he said in the interview. "It's the way that we're launching 2026 and it's going to be a big initiative for us. So all the teams are going to come together in Seoul, Korea. And they're going to have the opportunity to participate in these scheduled scrims and events to level up together. They'll also have the opportunity to preview a lot of upcoming content. So that's really exciting for us. And more than anything, it's the idea of leveling them up and like bringing them all together and seeing what comes out of that."

Sean Miller, the head of Overwatch esports, echoed Cheon and Valdez’s excitement and also shared insight into how the OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp 2026 came together.

"Each program really does serve a purpose, right? Take the Pre-season Bootcamp, for example. So when Nightmare beat Crazy Raccoon earlier this year in Hangzhou, it blew everybody's mind," Miller told esports.gg. "And pretty quickly, we all went to investigate -- how did this happen? What we found was a lot of the teams will bootcamp, particularly if there's an event in Asia, in Korea, and it really seems to level up their game. And so when we talk about the Pre-season Bootcamp, that's really trying to find this better regional parity -- help all people level up before the OWCS season starts."

In terms of the collegiate esports scene, the Spring 2026 Championship will have teams duking it out in weekly matches in Open and Varsity divisions. There will then be a Season Finals, which will be a live, in-person event between April 23 and April 26.

This scene will also include the National Open Championship Season with multiple stages starting Feb. 19. The Swiss Stage will happen before the Playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Championship Varsity Premier Season will include a Group Stage plus Playoffs. Schools that are National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) members will be featured in this circuit, and the Overwatch 2 esports actions will kick off on Feb. 2.

Finally, let's not forget about OWWC 2026. This program will feature Qualifiers, Group Stage, and Finals. It will also get Pre-Qualifier Conference Cups in three different conferences. Everything will lead to the top Overwatch 2 teams duking it at BlizzCon 2026!

In an interview with esports.gg, Valdez shared his excitement about the return of the OWWC and the significance of the venue.

"That, to us, is our biggest footprint at BlizzCon," Valdez said. "And that's where the Overwatch esports team is really going to be engaging. We're really excited about the program. And it's not just BlizzCon. We are getting started right now, and it's continuing throughout all of 2026 with the cumulation at BlizzCon. It's going to be a really exciting part of that larger event."

He continued, "And the most exciting thing for us is that the World Cup is back in the arena. The ACC at the Anaheim Convention Center arena is one of the most iconic Overwatch esports venues. It may not be the biggest, the fanciest, or anything like that, but when it comes to nostalgia levels, it's peak, right? I can envision the screams and like the fans shouting every time that I enter that place. It gives me chills whenever I think about it. For a lot of like longtime fans, seeing that event come to fruition next year is going to be really nice. I think we're going to get a lot of new fans entering Overwatch esports when they see that."

Miller also shared what it means to him to see OWWC 2026 take place at BlizzCon. "I interned at the Overwatch League in its inaugural year, so that's where I started in esports. And I'll never forget walking into the arena that they had in LA and just being blown away by the competition, by the teams, by kind of the whole thing," he told esports.gg. "And then the second core memory for esports was BlizzCon when I went to the World Cup. I just sat there for a really long time, and I was just like, 'This is so cool.'"

That's all for now. Are you excited for another year of Overwatch 2 esports? Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!