Overwatch free trial will be available to Nintendo Switch Online members from October 13

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Nintendo Switch Online members will be able to try out a free trial of Overwatch from October 13. 

The free trial is set to run for a week starting from Tuesday October 13 at 19:00 BST / 20:00 CEST / 11 am PDT until Tuesday October 20 at 23:59 local time. The extended demo period gives you the full version of the game as part of Nintendo's Game Trails programme, which lets members play selected titles for a limited time. 

If you don't have a subscription and have yet to use your free 7-day trial of Nintendo Switch Online, you can also take advantage of the offer by using it up for the week. Just be sure to cancel it if you don't want to be charged later. 

Alongside the free play period, Overwatch: Legendary Edition is also going on sale on the Nintendo eShop from October 13, with a 50% discount off the price tag. The upgraded edition of Blizzard's team-based shooter released late last year, and bundles together the full game with Legendary, Epic Hero, and Origin Hero skins, along with a 3-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. The edition came out the same time as the release of Overwatch on the Switch. 

Members are able to download the game now ahead of the trial start date so you can make the most of the week-long run once it goes live. Even if you've played the game before on other platforms, this is a great opportunity to get a feel for how it plays out on Nintendo's console.  

Want to know more? Check out our Overwatch Nintendo Switch review to see if it's for you. 

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good. 

Latest in Games
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"