If you take competitive games seriously, the ability to spectate matches is key to analyzing games, strategizing, and improving your own game style. Overwatch 2 allows players to do so, so here’s exactly how you can monitor matches in Blizzard’s shooter.
Blizzard’s follow-up to their Hero shooter series, Overwatch 2, wasn’t a complete reinvention of the original game, it was more of a continuation. This isn’t a bad thing, and it’s why players keep coming back each month and tuning into the OWL.
In terms of the actual game itself, the format has radically changed from its usual 6v6 format to 5v5, and while this alters the dynamic of every match, it also means there’s one less spot for players to fill. This means joining a game with your friend can be harder, for example.
If you are looking to enter spectator mode for whatever reason and don’t know how, our guide will show you what to do.
Which modes can you spectate in Overwatch 2?
Since Blizzard removed the ability to spectate Ranked matches to avoid any controversy and foul play, players are only allowed to monitor three modes:
- Quick Play
- Arcade
- Custom Games
How to enter spectator mode in Overwatch 2
If you’re looking to spectate in Overwatch 2, you’ll need to wait and join a friend if it’s in Quick Play or Arcade, or switch to the Spectator side of things in Custom games.
Arcade mode & Quick Play
If you want to join a friend in a regular match, you’ll have to wait until they’re online and in an ongoing match.
- Open the game’s social list on the main menu.
- Find your friend’s user among your friends list.
- Click on their name.
- Press “Spectate” .
This will then take you to the match and you can cycle through players to enjoy the action.
Custom games
Things are a little different for Custom games.
- Join a Custom game lobby (or create one yourself).
- At the bottom of the screen, select the Spectator team. If you are not the lobby creator, you’ll need to ask the host to change the team for you.
- Start the match.
With this mode, you can switch between all the players on the field to watch their different points of view, game styles, and special moves. However, keep in mind that there can only be two spectators per lobby.