Since it released on October 4, Overwatch 2 has been host to a wide variety of bugs and launch issues. One of these — a bug that prevents veteran Overwatch players from being able to play the majority of the 35 heroes in the game — is particularly frustrating to deal with. This issue has been affecting countless players for several days, and while Blizzard has said it's working on a fix, the problem remains unresolved for now.
Thankfully, there is a workaround for the bug, although it doesn't always work. In this quick guide, we'll go over how you can potentially fix the issue while waiting for Blizzard's official patch.
How to fix Overwatch 2 heroes locked for old players
If you find that you're unable to play most of Overwatch 2's heroes despite having played the original Overwatch before, this bug is affecting you. Blizzard has confirmed that this issue occurs whenever the game incorrectly identifies your account as a new one rather than an older one, and tries to make you go through the Overwatch 2 First-Time User Experience (FTUE) tutorial as a result.
To attempt to get around this, you'll need to close Overwatch 2 and relaunch it, relogging you into the game. This should fix the problem, but if it doesn't, you'll need to keep restarting the game until it works. If you're playing on PC, you can also try logging out of and back into your Battle.net client before relaunching the game.
Note that there's no guarantee that this fix will work, and if it doesn't, players will need to remain patient and wait until the developers deploy a hotfix that solves the problem. Hopefully this bug is patched soon, as it's no doubt very frustrating to only have a handful of heroes available if you're a seasoned Overwatch veteran.
Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It's arguably one of the best Xbox shooters available, and since it's free-to-play, it doesn't cost anything to check it out. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack that provides access to Season 1's Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.
