Blizzard had to make last-minute changes to the Competitive Schedule, which meant the extension of the Overwatch Season 26 end date.
The good news is that the Overwatch Season 26 start time has been locked in for this week and that annoying message about the season ending in less than a minute will soon be gone.
But why have gamers who usually enjoy the rollover of Overwatch Competitive had to wait longer than usual?
According to Blizzard, a technical issue was spotted by the game’s support team that meant Blizzard had to put on the brakes.
The dev team tested a number of fixes, but it seems none of them could be applied to avoid delays to Overwatch Season 27 kicking off.
So, Blizzard made the choice to allow players to get back into Competitive Play by extending Season 26, rather than having a long gap.
WHEN DOES OVERWATCH SEASON 27 START?
Blizzard has confirmed that the Overwatch Season 27 start date has been set for Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
This will be a unified launch across all platforms, meaning that PS4, Xbox One and PC gamers will get to jump back in at the same time.
The official Overwatch Season 27 start time has been set for 7pm GMT on Tuesday, or 11am PDT on the same day in the United States.
No changes have been made to this schedule since it was announced last week, meaning we expect everything to kick off on schedule.
For now, the leaderboard has been re-enabled and will reflect changes in ranks as if Season 26 never ended, and players who climb ranks during this extension will be eligible to receive non-consumable rewards.
“If you did not receive your Competitive Points when loading into the game after the original end of Season 26, you’ll receive your rewards next Tuesday when the extended season ends.”
“If you did not place during Season 26 and you place during the extension you will be eligible for end-of-season rewards.”
There is also a chance that a new Overwatch update will need to be downloaded on March 9 to cater for the Season 27 fix.
It’s unlikely to be a big patch unless Blizzard also pairs it with balance changes for existing Overwatch heroes.
If this does happen, a full list of patch notes will be shared via the Overwatch website, confirming everything that has changed.