Overwatch 2 Players on PS5 Reportedly Struggling With Serious Frame Drops

Highlights

• Overwatch 2 players on PS5 are experiencing serious frame drops that are negatively impacting their gameplay.
• Some players prefer the premium experience of the original Overwatch over the free-to-play model of Overwatch 2.
• The frame rate issues on PS5 are not present on other platforms, and joining a match in progress exacerbates the problem.

Many Overwatch 2 players on the PS5 have reported and shared footage of serious frame drops inhibiting their gameplay. Overwatch 2 is free-to-play on modern consoles, but the latest season isn’t running as expected on PS5.

Overwatch 2 was released as a multi-platform game, replacing the original on Nintendo, PlayStation, PC, and Xbox. The game has been divisive in the community since it came out, as many prefer the premium experience of the first title over the free-to-play model of Overwatch 2. Because the original game is no longer available, a portion of the player base continues to play it due to the lack of an alternative. Adding some complexity to the situation on PS5, many players report that the sequel has serious frame drops that directly affect gameplay.

Reddit users HeyUsernameImDad and TheWorstOfTheWest are among many Overwatch fans sharing their irregular PS5 experiences. The problem seemingly began with the release of Overwatch 2 Season 8 on December 5. Since the update dropped, PS5 fans have seen low frame rates. This has turned what may be otherwise standard gameplay clips into choppy and pixelated videos. The low frame rates on PS5 have spurred frustration in the community as the game seems to play normally on other platforms. One gamer stated that the problem has persisted for over 24 hours, which suggests that it has affected many fans on PS5.

One clip highlights just how difficult it is to play the game in this condition as a Mercy tries to heal their team while struggling with the frame rate issue. A Reddit user claims that joining a game that’s already begun makes the experience even worse. In this clip, the player selects Overwatch 2 Support hero Lifeweaver and joins their allies, with only a couple of them visible. In many cases, players don’t even see their own character until several moments after spawning. Because of the condition of the game, fans are unable to play as they usually would. Going beyond the gameplay, PS5 fans are also reporting that even menus are lagging compared to before Season 8 began.

While the game is hardly playable on PS5, Overwatch 2 on PS4 seems to be working like normal. Given these problems seemingly began with an update, something in the patch is likely causing the PS5 performance issues. Blizzard continues to update Overwatch 2 on all platforms, so a future patch may resolve the significant frame rate dips on PS5. In the meantime, it’s currently unclear what recourse PS5 fans have other than to play on a different device if they have one.