Best launcher for Overwatch

On PC, Overwatch does not have a menu of launchers to rank. The official client is Battle.net. The best launcher is that one, kept up to date, with the extras that slow it down turned off.

Use the official client

Install Battle.net from Blizzard, sign in, and install Overwatch from there. Do not use a repack, a “lite launcher,” or a video description that promises a faster client. Those are how people lose accounts.

Console versions open from the console’s own home screen. They are not a PC launcher you can install on a desktop.

When the launcher feels worse than the game

Battle.net updates itself, then the game, and it can sit on a scan. Give it a minute on a fresh install before you decide it is broken. If it fails, close it fully and open it again before you reinstall the whole game.

Check that the game is installed on a drive with space. A full drive looks like a launcher bug. It is a disk.

Turn off what you do not need

The launcher can start with Windows and can keep itself open. If you only play one game, you do not need it sitting in the tray all day. Close it when you are done, or turn off the start-with-Windows option if that option is getting in your way.

In the game, turn off overlays you do not read. An overlay is not a launcher, but it is the usual thing that makes the first minute of a match hitch.

What “best” can mean later

If Blizzard ever offers the game through another official store, this draft should name that store and the tradeoff. Until then, a third-party launcher is not a recommendation. Battle.net is the path.

Common questions

Is there a better third-party launcher?

No. Overwatch on PC is launched through Battle.net. A random "launcher" download is not a shortcut. It is a risk.

What about console?

PlayStation and Xbox launch the game from their own system software. This article is about the PC client.