Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch will have to continue entertaining fans for some time given an earnings call in February suggested Overwatch 2 won't launch in 2021. Luckily, improvements are still being pushed out for the team-based competitive shooter for those who are sticking by it, with Nvidia recently announcing that reduced latency is available for those who want to test out the feature.
Overwatch received a next-gen upgrade for Xbox Series X last week, though similar updates have yet to be announced for PlayStation 5, letting users choose between three graphical settings: Resolution, Balanced, and Framerate. However, PC players now also have a new way to improve their gameplay by accessing Overwatch's Public Test Region (PTR) where Nvidia Reflex is currently being tested.
Latency is a measurement for how long it takes to see one's input on their controller or keyboard reflected by an in-game action. This is especially important to track for online, competitive games, which was taken advantage of a few years ago by Internet service provider Cox Communications offering an "Elite Gamer" package meant to reduce latency. The public test for Nvidia Reflex in Overwatch is free and reportedly reduces latency by up to 50 percent on 10, 20, and 30-series graphics cards, according to a post by Nvidia GeForce on March 12.
Nvidia Reflex must be manually activated in the game's options menu when accessing the PTR, and this option will only be available to users who have downloaded the March 11, 2021 Overwatch update. The manufacturer also suggests users with proper hardware can try Nvidia's Latency Flash Indicator and make other system adjustments to reduce latency, which it hopes will "further improve player competitiveness."
A number of games are compatible with Nvidia Reflex according to its official page on the GeForce website, including Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Fortnite, and a suite of modern Call of Duty titles. Ahead of its Crimson Heist update, Rainbow Six Siege also received Nvidia Reflex support. It was announced that both Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege would be added to the list of compatible games in a post on January 12.
Reduced latency is not the only type of video game improvements being pushed out by Nvidia. Last month, the company announced it was adding deep learning super sampling (DLSS) support to more PC games including Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord and Nioh 2, thereby potentially improving resolution and FPS. It should be interesting to see how Overwatch continues to improve leading up to the release of its highly anticipated sequel.
Overwatch is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Nvidia, Nvidia Reflex