Still using Ventrillo, Skype and Raidcall to communicate with party members and the rest of the community in MMOs? If you're planning to participate in the beta testing phase of Blizzard's team-based shooter game, Overwatch, then that won't be necessary.
In a blog post on Friday, Oct. 23, the game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California, announced that it is working to update Battle.net with a VoIP feature as part of its preparation for the Overwatch beta test.
"This update will lay the foundation for us to test voice chat functionality within the Overwatch beta," says Blizzard. "We're excited for players to give this feature a try during the Overwatch beta and look forward to your feedback."
On the proceeding FAQs section, however, Blizzard notes that the voice chat, since it is in its early stages and still being tested, will not be available for other games aside from Overwatch. Moreover, since the feature is still in its infancy, the company cannot, at least not yet, specify the games that will be supported and when the voice chat will be implemented for them.
Furthermore, since it's just a feature that's being integrated, no graphical changes should be expected from the Battle.net desktop app. The company will be releasing more details regarding the feature as the days move forward.
As previously reported, Blizzard is currently forming a team of interested parties to be its core beta testers for the Overwatch beta. The team will be tasked to provide feedback regarding the different aspects of the game. Aside from this, the company will also be opening its floodgates during "Beta Test Weekends," which will allow those who are not part of the core team to try out the game. This will also enable the company to see test the server-side of things.
Overwatch's beta phase will start on Oct. 27. To try out both the game and the upcoming feature, users must first sign up.
