How to Play Overwatch 2 On Linux

Ever since Overwatch 2 launched, many players old and new have been hopping on the game. After all, it's completely free so why shouldn't they, right? Well, if you're a Linux user then you might automatically assume that you won't be able to play it at all because of it not being officially available for it.

However, that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Because of a couple of workaround methods, there's the possibility of you being able to play Overwatch 2 on your Linux device, even if the installation process won't be as simple as it is for Windows users.

Although there are multiple ways to be able to run Overwatch 2 on Linux, we'll be going through the one way we believe to be the most convenient and easy one for you. While some methods people have come up with do technically work, players get less than 10 fps in the game. Fortunately, that isn't the case with the method explained below.

How to Play Overwatch 2 Using Bottles

The first method we would like to introduce to you is using Bottles, a compatibility layer for Windows, in order to be able to run any Windows exclusive software as if you were using a Windows device.

What this tool does is that it allows you to run different games and software in Linux by imitating the C drive to provide the Windows environment in Linux. Perhaps the best thing about this software is that it's easily able to modify the system according to the file you run (which includes .exe, the one we're going to be running today).

So with all that said and done, let's get into installing Bottles and using it to run Overwatch 2.

Step 1: Install Bottles

You can use different package formats such as Flatpak, DEB, AppImage, Snap, etc to install Bottles, with which one you use not really affecting the process all that much. For this example, however, let's say we're using Flatpak to install it.

The command you'll want to use to install Bottles using Flatpak is sudo flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles

Once you're done installing Bottles, all you have to do is search it up in 'applications' and launch it, and then click on the arrow on the screen four times to begin the process.

Step 2: Download Battle.net .Exe file

Now that you have a way to install .exe files, what you want to do is download the Battle.net .exe file to your Linus device. Luckily, since it's free to play, all you have to do is go to the official Overwatch 2 website, sign up (or log in to an existing account), and select the download option to begin the download process.

The reason we're downloading Battle.net instead of the Overwatch 2 file, is that it's the only way to download Overwatch 2. 

Step 3: Install Battle.net .Exe file

After the file has been downloaded, go back to Bottles and click on the + icon (or 'create new bottles' option). Select Application from the Environment list, click on the Create button, and when given the option to choose between gaming, application, or custom, go with gaming.

Once it is done, the system will start setting up configurations as required by the Windows application, after which you'll be able to see and select the newly created bottle in the previously empty bottle screen.

Double click on the bottle you just created for Battle.net, and click on 'run executable'. You'll be asked to select an executable file, and that's where the Battle.net .exe file we downloaded previously comes in.

After clicking on the confirmation button, a pop up window will, well, pop up. It'll ask you if you want to install Battle.net on your device and voila. You're done.

Something to Keep in Mind

If you go to the 'installers' option that's given to you towards the left of the screen, there's the potential of there being an option to download Blizzard.net directly. If you do get it, then simply click the download icon next to it to make life easier for yourself and skip steps 3 and 4.

Step 4: Downloading Overwatch 2

Although you'll now have Blizzard.net on your Linux device, you won't have Overwatch 2. Instead, since Blizzard.net plays the role of a launcher for Overwatch 2, you'll first have to download the game from the Blizzard.net application before you're able to play it. Once the download is complete, simply run it as if you were using a Windows device, and not a Linux one.