Best VPNs for Overwatch 2 in 2023
-
Aurelija Tomkevičiūtė
Writer
Overwatch 2, the new version of an online multiplayer FPS game, was launched on October 4th, 2022. The launch got off to a rocky start signified by overloaded servers, insanely long queues, and outages. And even though things have calmed down a bit, users still face problems such as high ping, blocked VoIP, IP bans, and occasional DDoS attacks.
Fortunately, all of these problems can be fixed (or at least avoided) with a VPN for Overwatch. By hiding your real IP address and changing your virtual location, you can unblock Overwatch voice chat, keep yourself safe from DDoS, and even reduce ping.
If all the above sounds tempting, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll give you an overview of the best Overwatch VPNs in 2023 and how to use them to have the best Overwatch experience.
Top 5 best Overwatch 2 VPNs:
- NordVPN – the overall best VPN for Overwatch
- Surfshark – the fastest Overwatch VPN
- PureVPN – good Overwatch VPN for low ping
- IPVanish – the most secure VPN for Overwatch
- AtlasVPN – freemium VPN for Overwatch voice chat
Why do you need a VPN to play Overwatch?
Here are some ways how a VPN can make your Overwatch 2 experience better:
- Unblock VoIP. Voice chat is essential when playing any kind of game that requires teamwork, and Overwatch is no exception. However, in several countries such as Egypt, India, UAE, Philippines, and Vietnam, to name a few, VoIP is blocked. Fortunately, a VPN could be a foolproof solution to this problem – it will change your virtual location and unblock Overwatch voice chat.
- Reduce ping. High ping is a problem that many Overwatch players face on the regular, be it because of poor internet connection or ISP throttling. In some cases, a VPN proves to be a useful tool for reducing ping and avoiding ISP throttling.
- Avoid DDoS attacks. While not necessarily an incredibly prominent problem in Overwatch, DDoS attacks are a staple in online gaming in general. A VPN can help by hiding your IP address and making you immune to both DDoS and other online attacks while gaming.
- Bypass IP bans. There have been instances of people getting banned from Overwatch for no reason. While it is difficult to say whether these bans are IP bans or account bans, in case of an IP ban, a VPN can easily help bypass it. Once you connect to a VPN server, your IP address will change, and you’ll be able to play the game again.
The best VPNs for Overwatch – our detailed list
We tested over a dozen different gaming VPNs with Overwatch – we played the game, recorded ping, evaluated the effectiveness of protection, and did a whole lot more. In the list below, you’ll find those VPNs that made it through our testing process and emerged as winners. Take a look, read the descriptions, and choose the one VPN that is perfect for your Overwatch games.
1. NordVPN – the best and fastest Overwatch VPN
| Based in: | Panama |
| Servers/countries: | 5,800 servers in 60 countries |
| Unblokcs VoIP: | Yes |
| Current deal: | 🔥Get NordVPN with 68% OFF + 3 months FREE!🔥 |
NordVPN is an excellent VPN for every purpose imaginable – gaming included. Incredible speed, an abundance of diverse locations, and advanced features for both security and entertainment make NordVPN the best option for Overwatch.
Speed: NordVPN is known to be the fastest VPN in the industry right now, and our speed tests confirm this claim. While testing NordVPN with Overwatch, we experienced no lag whatsoever – call it magic, or call it the excellent speeds of NordVPN’s proprietary NordLynx protocol.
Features: among numerous online security features, NordVPN also has some that are excellent for gaming – for example, Meshnet, which allows you to create your own remote LAN party and play with your friends all over the world, without being in the same place. Also, split tunneling is beneficial when you want to use only certain apps with a VPN – in this case, Overwatch.
Servers and apps: NordVPN has 5,800 servers in 60 countries. Broad coverage of the whole world provides an opportunity to use this VPN no matter where in the world you are, and play in lots of different Overwatch servers whenever you want. NordVPN also supports a number of smart TVs and streaming boxes. It can be manually set up on a variety of routers as well, which makes it possible to use the VPN with gaming consoles – you’ll be able to play Overwatch on any device.
Privacy and security: NordVPN uses the advanced ChaCha20 encryption technology to secure your online traffic. It also has a variety of security features, such as threat protection which includes an ad and tracker blocker, and malware protection. There is also a kill switch to keep your data safe in case of unexpected VPN connection loss.
Price: NordVPN’s prices start at $3.19/month. You use the 7-day free trial, and the 30-day money-back guarantee to try it with Overwatch completely risk-free.
For more information, check out our NordVPN review.
2. Surfshark – great VPN for unblocking Overwatch voice chat
| Based in: | The Netherlands |
| Servers/countries: | 3,200 servers in 100 countries |
| Unblokcs VoIP: | Yes |
| Current deal: | 🔥Get 82% OFF Surfshark + 2 months FREE🔥 |
Often praised for its speed and affordability, Surfshark is another great choice for Overwatch. It has numerous useful features for both fun times and secure times. Diverse locations all over the world and unlimited connections just add to it all.
Speed: with speeds that rival that of NordVPN, Surfshark is often praised as one of the fastest VPNs as well. When we tested Surfshark with Overwatch, there was no noticeable lag whatsoever, no packet loss, and the gameplay was generally as smooth as it gets.
Features: the features of Surfshark are mostly focused on keeping you safe online. There is the CleanWeb feature which blocks malicious websites, as well as a kill switch, obfuscation, and more. Split tunneling is especially useful for gaming because it allows you to route only the game’s traffic through the VPN tunnel, leaving the rest of your online activities unaffected.
Servers and apps: Surshark supports all major operating systems, including macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS. There are also dedicated apps for Amazon Fire devices and a couple more streaming boxes and smart TVs. You can also set Surfshark up on your router and play Overwatch with a VPN on consoles. Besides, Surfshark offers 3,200 servers in 100 countries – you’ll find the best location to connect to no matter where you are.
Privacy and security: like many other VPN providers, Surfshark uses AES-256 encryption to secure your traffic and hide it from any third parties. It also has had audits that evaluated the security infrastructure, and the results were just outstanding. Coupled with a strict no-logs policy, Surfshark’s security and privacy prove to be really advanced.
Price: Surfshark’s prices start at $2.30/month. There is also a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee – don’t hesitate to use the opportunity to try Surfshark risk-free.
For more information, take a look at our Surfshark review. Or examine it against the top option in our Surfshark vs NordVPN analysis.
3. PureVPN – easy to use and secure Overwatch VPN
| Based in: | British Virgin Islands |
| Servers/countries: | 6,500 servers in 78 countries |
| Unblokcs VoIP: | Yes |
| Current deal: | 🔥Get PureVPN, now 83% OFF + 3 months FREE!🔥 |
PureVPN is a VPN that is easy to use, has very wide coverage in terms of server locations, and has several features not found in any other provider on this list. It is also a pretty good VPN choice for Overwatch.
Speed: PureVPN has WireGuard as its primary tunneling protocol for all apps. When we tested PureVPN with Overwatch, we experienced virtually no lag even though the overall connection speed was a bit lower than that of NordVPN or Surfshark.
Features: if you ever want to set up your own gaming server for a game, you’ll be happy to know that PureVPN supports port forwarding – which is not the case with many other VPNs. Other PureVPN features include obfuscation, split tunneling, and a handy password manager add-on called PureKeep (at an additional cost).
Servers and apps: with PureVPN’s 6,500 servers in 78 locations, you basically have the world in your hands. No matter where you are, PureVPN has servers near you. The VPN also supports iOS, macOS, Android, and windows devices, as well as smart TVs, some gaming consoles, and even routers.
Privacy and security: PureVPN uses the advanced AES-256 encryption cipher to keep your data secure when it’s travelling through the VPN tunnel. There is also IP and DNs leak protection, as well as a kill switch for max security. PureVPN’s privacy policy has been independently audited.
Price: the price of PureVPN starts at $2.08/month. With the 31-day money-back guarantee, you can also try it out before completely committing.
For more information, check out our PureVPN review.
4. IPVanish – security-focused VPN for Overwatch
| Based in: | United States |
| Servers/countries: | 2,200 servers in 52 countries |
| Unblokcs VoIP: | Yes |
| Current deal: | 🔥Get 75% OFF IPVanish!🔥 |
IPVanish is one of the more secure VPNs. What’s really nice about it is that the numerous security features don’t take away from the usability. IPVanish has good unblocking capabilities, both in terms of geo-restricted content, and restricted tools such as voice chats.
Speed: IPVanish does not have the top speeds – that is simply the truth. However, even with being averagely fast, it is still enough for playing Overwatch without too many issues. Our tests showed pretty good results. The lag was minimal, and we could still play the game and enjoy it.
Features: this VPN is a security-focused VPN, and thus most of its features reflect that. It has a kill switch, an obfuscation mode, as well as auto-connect for situations when you always want to be under VPN protection. Besides these, you can also use split tunneling and a free SOCKS5 proxy.
Servers and apps: IPVanish has apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. Other than that, it also supports the Chrome browser, Amazon Fire TV, and some routers. IPVanish offers 2,200 servers in 52 locations.
Privacy and security: IPVanish has an independently audited no-logs policy. It uses the standard AES-256 encryption cipher to keep your information safe and secure.
Price: IPVanish’s prices start at $2.99/month. You can also sign up for the 7-day free trial, and once that runs out, you’ll still have a 30-day money-back guarantee left.
If you’d like to know more, take a look at our IPVanish review.
5. Atlas VPN – Overwatch VPN with a free version
| Based in: | United States |
| Servers/countries: | 1,000 servers in 42 countries |
| Unblokcs VoIP: | Yes |
| Current deal: | 🔥Get Atlas VPN, now 85% OFF + 3 months FREE!🔥 |
Atlas VPN is a good VPN for Overwatch, and one of the most exciting things about it is the free version – although it is quite limited in terms of features, servers, and data. The paid versions, though, offer much more – exciting features and relatively good speeds for gaming.
Speed: when we tested Atlas VPN with Overwatch, there was lag, but it was minimal, and the ping was also good enough to work with. So while Atlas VPN is not the fastest out of all VPNs discussed, the speeds are still pretty good for gaming.
Features: Atlas VPN has a lot of features – most of them focused on security, as one would expect from a VPN. There is a feature called SafeBrowse, which blocks malicious domains, ads, and trackers, as well as an IP rotator, and several other features for online security and privacy. However, most of these features are only available with paid plans.
Servers and apps: AtlasVPN supports all major operating systems, namely Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android. The free version of Atlas VPN grants you access to three servers in two locations, and the paid version allows you to use 1,000 servers in 42 locations.
Privacy and security: AtlasVPN uses AES-256 encryption and also offers several features for more security. For example, you can use the kill switch for an additional safety layer. The VPN also employs a strict no-logs policy.
Price: Atlas VPN has a free version but it gives you only 5GB of data per month. The paid plans start at $1.82/month, it has no data limits, and there is also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
For more details, check out our Atlas VPN review.
How we selected and tested these VPNs
Testing VPNs is not a simple process and involves a lot of different things. However, just to share a tiny bit of our process, here are some questions that we asked and aspects that we tested when selecting VPNs for Overwatch:
- How fast are the tunneling protocols? Internet connection speed is essential for online gaming, and thus it is extremely important that a VPN slows it down as little as possible. We tested all VPNs on our list using our speed test tool, as well as while playing Overwatch.
- How many servers does the VPN have and in which countries? More servers mean less overcrowding and thus better connectivity. Besides, connecting to a location closer to you will also improve the chances of better ping. Therefore, the more servers in more widespread locations, the better the VPN.
- Do the kill switch and split tunneling work? A kill switch is an essential security feature of any respectable VPN, therefore it is important that it works properly. The same goes for split tunneling. We tested split tunneling and kill switch functionalities on all listed VPNs.
- Does it unblock the Overwatch voice chat and geo-restricted content? Since voice chat is crucial for an enjoyable Overwatch experience and since it is blocked in some countries, we needed only the VPNs that are capable of unblocking it. And while testing the voice chat, we also looked into how well the VPNs unblock other geo-restricted features and content, such as streaming libraries.
- How well does the VPN work with Overwatch 2 overall? While this may seem too obvious of a question to ask, none of the points above will matter if the VPN does not work with Overwatch at all – causes extreme lag and high ping, doesn’t connect, or is leaking your IP and DNS addresses. We played Overwatch with all five VPNs on our list just to see if they are good enough for this game.
How to use a VPN to play Overwatch?
Using a VPN with Overwatch is very simple. Just follow the steps below:
- Download and install a reliable and fast VPN provider. We recommend NordVPN.
- Connect to your chosen VPN server.
- Ensure that the VPN uses the fastest available protocol, such as NordLynx or WireGuard.
- If you want extra security, enable the kill switch.
- Launch Overwatch and get to playing.
Best VPN locations for Overwatch
Overwatch has three main regions that players can choose from – different crowds, different experiences. And depending on which region you choose to play in, it would be in your best interest to also connect to the most optimal VPN server. Thus, here are the best VPN server locations for different Overwatch regions, based on our research:
| Overwatch region (server country) | Best VPN server locations |
| Europe (Netherlands) | Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Paris, London |
| Asia (S. Korea) | South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan |
| N. America (California, Illinois) | Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco |
Can a VPN reduce my ping in Overwatch?
Yes, in some cases a VPN can reduce ping in Overwatch and generally make the gaming experience smoother.
High ping is sometimes caused by overcrowding on the game’s servers. Connecting to a different location with a VPN and getting into a different Overwatch region could potentially help avoid crowds and thus lower the ping.
However, it’s important to remember that connecting to a location that is very far away from your actual area will most likely increase ping even more. Our advice is to connect to a location that’s closer to you.
Other ways to fix high ping in Overwatch
If a VPN helps with ping a little, but it is still too high, there are some things you can try to fix it:
- Make sure you are not downloading (or torrenting) anything while playing – no updates, other games, other big files.
- Restart your router – sometimes a fresh start is all you need.
- Install the latest updates for network drivers. This will ensure that your device can communicate with your router in the most efficient way – in other words, they are necessary for internet to work on your PC.
- Connect to the closest Overwatch and VPN region. Maybe the VPN server that you chose is too far away from your own location or from your chosen Overwatch region.
Can I use a free VPN to play Overwatch?
Yes, you can, but we don’t recommend using a free VPN or a free anything with Overwatch. There are a couple reasons for that, concerning both suitability for gaming and overall security:
- Slow speeds. Free VPNs tend to be very slow, be it because they don’t have the funds for better implementations or experimentations, or just because the owners can’t be bothered. One thing is clear – with the speed of a free VPN, the ping is going to be at an all-time high.
- Data limits. Free VPNs have a tendency to put limits on how much data you can use per day or per month. And let us tell you from experience – that amount of data is never enough for even one complete gaming session.
- Low security and privacy standards. To make profit, free VPNs sell and collect user data more often than not. Therefore, very few of them can actually guarantee their users privacy. As for security, some get by with the bare minimum encryption and just don’t bother investing in better security measures.
With all that in mind, there are couple of options for you to use a VPN with Overwatch for free. For example, a freemium VPN such as Atlas VPN will have a free version – although limited in data, features, and server locations. Alternatively, you can also sign up for free trials, such as NordVPN’s 7-day free trial, and also make use of the money-back guarantees that most providers offer.
FAQ
What's the best VPN for Overwatch 2?
According to our tests, NordVPN is the best VPN for Overwatch 2. With the fastest speeds in the industry, it can reduce high ping. NordVPN also provides stable and reliable connections, as well as numerous features for security, privacy, and even gaming. With x servers in x locations, you will be able to use NordVPN with Overwatch no matter where you are.
Does NordVPN work with Overwatch?
Yes, we tested NordVPN with Overwatch and can confidently say that it works. We experienced no lag or packet loss whatsoever when playing Overwatch with NordVPN.
Can I get banned for using a VPN on Overwatch?
No, Overwatch won’t ban you for using a VPN. Their Terms of Service state nothing about using a VPN for security reasons. However, if you use a VPN or any other software to tamper with the game’s mechanics or cheat, your account could be banned.
Can I use a VPN to unblock voice chat in Overwatch?
Yes, a VPN is a useful tool if you want to unblock voice chat in Overwatch. We found that NordVPN is the best VPN for VoIP on Overwatch and other games.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked