Overwatch Switch gameplay provides hint at next major patch

Footage of the new Nintendo Switch version of Overwatch has started to come out and it seems to show gameplay from the latest PTR patch.

The latest Overwatch patch hit the PTR on September 25, and contains nerfs for Sigma and Orisa, along with buffs for D.Va and more.

It’s definitely a large update, and it’s worth your time to go through the patch notes and see exactly what’s going to be changed.

As with all Overwatch updates, people have wondered exactly when the patch will go live, but new footage of the game on Switch could get us close to an answer.

How does Overwatch on Switch relate to the patch?

In a preview video from GameSpot on YouTube, there is a point where Symmetra deploys her ultimate and it stays up for 12 seconds like on the PTR, instead of the 15 seconds that’s currently live on all other platforms.

That means, with Overwatch on Switch coming out on October 15, that it will be out after the update has already happened.

This is a critical piece of information, but still leaves us with the question of when the update will actually happen.

Timestamp at 2:47 for mobile users, credit to GameSpot on YouTube for the video:

So, when will the update happen?

This is the million dollar question, but if we look at several factors – including a potential start date for the Halloween Terror event, we can begin to narrow it down.

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Start dates for Overwatch’s Halloween event usually fall in the second week of October, with all the previous launch dates for the event as follows:

• 2016 – October 11
• 2017 – October 10
• 2018 – October 9

All of these dates are the second Tuesday in October (look it up if you don’t believe us) which means we’re likely looking at an October 8 start date for the 2019 event.

Overwatch usually updates the game on Tuesdays as well (with a few exceptions) so there’s a very good chance we’ll see the latest PTR patch go live on Oct. 8 along with the Halloween Terror event.

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Of course this all just an educated guess, and Blizzard could do something unexpected this year, but the second Tuesday of October is a good time frame for when the next event and the patch will go live.

This means Switch users will start their Overwatch adventure on the platform with the latest patch and the first-ever loading screen for Nintendo players will be for Halloween Terror.

We still don’t have any idea about what the new Halloween skins could be, but thanks to some leaks we know Junkertown is likely to be the map that gets a Halloween reskin this year.