Nothing can be more frustrating than seeing the ‘Playing Now’ button on Battlenet but Overwatch 2 won’t launch or start at all. This is a repeated error that mostly comes up after updates. If you are currently stuck on this notification or a variant of ‘Entering game’ in OW2, here are the troubleshooting tips you can follow.
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Overwatch 2 Playing Now Bug Fix
If you are trying to launch OW2 from the Battle.net client, clicking on the Play Now button but are stuck at the “Playing Now” text on the button, there are two things you can do.
- Close the Battle.net client, click on the Play Now button again and the second or third time you do it, the game should launch properly.
- Close the Battle.net client completely and open your Task Manager. Remove Battle.net and Overwatch processes from there. After ending the task, relaunch the game as Administrator.
Overwatch 2 Stuck on Entering Game Issue
Check the Server Status
- This error could be caused if Blizzard servers are down.
- So, before going through any of the methods, we suggest checking the server status of Overwatch 2.
Scan & Repair Game Files
- Launch the Battle.net launcher application and select Overwatch 2.
- Then, select the Options and choose the Scan and Repair option.
- It may take a while if the game files are corrupted. But once the repair is complete, launch the game to check if the problem persists.
If it does, you can try out the next potential method.
Check your Internet Connection
- Having an inconsistent internet connection can lead to such errors. So, make sure that you have a stable connection.
- We suggest using a wired connection rather than a wireless connection for a seamless experience.
- You can restart your modem and router to re-establish the connection.
Update your Graphics drivers
- Hit the start button and search for Device Manager.
- You need to double-click or expand the Display Adapters option.
- Then, right-click on your graphics driver and select the Update driver option.
This will update your graphics driver to the latest version that supports the game.
Manually Login
- Instead of launching the Battle.net launcher, you can try launching the Overwatch 2.exe directly.
- You can either head to the file directory of Overwatch 2 or launch the desktop shortcut.
- On the game screen, enter your credentials and hit the Login Button.
Clear Background Applications
- There are several third-party applications and software that can interfere with your running game.
- You can hit the CTRL + Shift + Esc shortcut to launch your Task Manager.
- You need to select all the background processes taking too much of your RAM.
- Then, hit the End Task option to force-quite these selected programs.
- Lastly, launch Overwatch 2 to check if you are still stuck on the loading screen.
Update OW2
If the previous method didn’t work out for you, check if Overwatch 2 is updated to its latest version. Follow the below steps to update Overwatch 2:
- Launch the Battle.net client or launcher.
- Then, select Overwatch 2 from the Games Library and click on the cog wheel icon. You will find the icon next to the Play button.
- Now, select the Check for updates option from the drop menu.
- It might take some time to download and install if there’s an available update.
- Once the installation is all set up, launch OW 2 to check if the issue persists.
Reinstalling Overwatch 2
- If none of the resorts seem to work out, you might need to reinstall the game.
- Firstly, you need to uninstall Overwatch 2 completely. Then, install it again.
- You can launch Overwatch 2 to check if the problem persists. This should hopefully resolve the issue.
But if you are still stuck on the loading screen after reinstalling, we suggest heading over to Blizzard Support for more assistance.
That’s everything covered about Overwatch 2 stuck on the Entering game or Playing Now bug. If this helped you, you can check out more helpful guides in our dedicated section for Overwatch 2 right here on Gamer Tweak.