If you've ever queued up for a quick play match on a new Overwatch 2 account, you've probably noticed some players move in weird, predictable ways, ignore chat, and make decisions that make zero sense for the team. You might have even wondered: are there bots in Overwatch 2? The short answer is yes, but they don't show up everywhere, and they serve very specific purposes for both new players and the game's matchmaking system. I've put in over 400 hours across casual, competitive, and custom game modes since the game launched, so I'll break down exactly when you'll run into bots, how to spot them, and what they're used for.
Are There Bots in Overwatch 2 in Public Matchmaking Lobbies?
Blizzard doesn't advertise the presence of bots in public lobbies, but they're a core part of the game's onboarding and queue management system. You'll almost never run into them if you're a regular player with a level 25+ account queuing in a high-population region, but there are a few specific scenarios where they will pop up.
New player onboarding matches are the most common place to find bots. If you're making a brand new account, your first 3 to 5 quick play matches will be almost entirely filled with bots, with only 1 or 2 other real new players mixed in. This is intentional: it lets new players learn how each hero works, get used to objective play, and avoid getting steamrolled by veteran smurf accounts in their first few games. I recently made a smurf account to practice support heroes off-stream, and my first four matches had zero real players aside from me, so I can confirm this system is still active.
The other common scenario is low-population region queue times. If you're queuing for quick play, arcade, or any non-ranked mode in a region with very few active players at your skill level, the matchmaking system will add bots to your lobby to cut down wait times. You'll usually only see this if you're queuing at 3AM in a small region, or playing a very niche arcade mode that barely has any active players. Bots will never take the place of real players if the queue can fill a lobby in under 2 minutes, so most regular players won't run into this situation often.
You'll also find bots in all official PvE game modes, including seasonal story events and the permanent PvE mission rotations. These bots are designed as enemies, not fill-ins for real players, and they're balanced to provide a fun challenge for teams of real players. These are the only bots that most regular players will encounter intentionally.
How to Tell Bots Apart From Real Overwatch 2 Players
It can be tricky to tell bots apart from very new or distracted real players at first, but there are a few consistent tells that you can look for to confirm you're playing against or with a bot. I've compiled the most reliable signs I've noticed after running into dozens of bot lobbies over the past two years:
It's important to note that not every player with bad aim or weird movement is a bot. I've run into plenty of real players who are playing on controller for the first time, or distracted by kids or pets in the background, who fit a lot of these signs. If you're not sure, try typing a question in team chat directed at the player in question: if they don't respond at all, there's a good chance they're a bot. If they type back an annoyed response, you know it's a real person.
Do Bots Appear in Competitive Overwatch 2 Play?
This is one of the most common questions I get from new players who just unlocked ranked play, and the answer is almost always no. Ranked competitive lobbies do not use bots for fill-ins, no matter how long your queue is. Blizzard has confirmed this multiple times, as adding bots to ranked play would completely ruin the integrity of the ranking system. If you're queuing for competitive and the wait time is over 10 minutes, the system will just keep searching for real players instead of adding bots to fill the lobby.
That said, you might run into third-party cheating bots in competitive play, though these are very rare in most ranks. These are not official Blizzard bots, but instead illegal software that controls a real player's account to aim perfectly, track enemies through walls, or make perfect ability uses. These are against the game's terms of service, and Blizzard bans thousands of these accounts every month. If you encounter a player with impossibly perfect aim that never misses a shot even when you're moving erratically, you should report them immediately.
Most of the time, when players think they've run into a bot in competitive play, they're actually running into a smurf account, a player who's having a very bad game, or a player who's alt-tabbing between the game and another app. I've had games where I've been alt-tabbing to respond to a text and ended up walking off the edge of the map three times in a row, and my team definitely thought I was a bot. Don't jump to conclusions immediately, and always report suspicious players if you're sure they're cheating.
Can You Play Custom Games With Bots in Overwatch 2?
If you want to play with bots on purpose, you absolutely can, and it's one of the best ways to practice new heroes without ruining games for other real players. Custom game bot lobbies let you set up exactly the scenario you want to practice, whether that's working on your Widowmaker aim, learning how to use Lifeweaver's abilities, or practicing team fights with a group of friends.
You can adjust bot difficulty levels from easy to expert, pick exactly which heroes the bots will play, and even adjust game settings like cooldown times, health pools, and damage multipliers to fit your practice needs. I use custom bot lobbies at least once a week to practice new support heroes before I take them into quick play, and it's cut down my learning curve drastically. It's also a great way to mess around with friends if you don't feel like dealing with the stress of real lobbies.
There are also hundreds of pre-made custom game modes created by the community that use bots for everything from target practice drills to PvE survival modes. You don't have to set up the lobby yourself if you don't want to: just search the custom game browser for "bot practice" or "aim drill" and you'll find dozens of lobbies you can join for free. These lobbies are great for players of all skill levels, from total newbies learning the basics to top 500 players looking to sharpen their aim.
Now you have a full answer to the question are there bots in Overwatch 2, and you know exactly when you'll run into them, how to spot them, and how to use them to improve your gameplay. Bots are a helpful part of the game for new players learning the ropes, and they're a great practice tool for players of all skill levels, but you don't have to worry about them ruining your competitive matches. Next time you see a player walking in a straight line into enemy fire, you'll know exactly whether it's a bot, a new player, or just a veteran having a very off day.