Experience your past Overwatch games from a whole new perspective with the Replay feature, now available on the Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR). Replays allow you to watch your previous matches from any vantage point. Whether you want a first-person, third-person, or a bird’s-eye view, you can see it all with this tool.
Hone your strategies by slowing down or speeding up the game to see exactly how a critical moment played out, or get a better view of the action from on high with or without the UI. The Replays feature is currently available on the PTR for PC only, but will be coming to consoles soon.
Accessing Replays
You can view available Replays from your Player Profile under the Replays tab. There you'll be able to load up your 10 most recent matches in all game modes (except for Tutorial and Practice Range). Replays will be available for the duration of a patch; as with Highlights, your Replays will be reset when a new patch launches.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Here are some handy default keyboard shortcuts to get you started and spark some ideas about what you can control in Replays.
- N: Show/hide controls
- W, A, S, and D: Move camera around on a plane
- Q and E: Move camera up and down
- Scroll Wheel Up: Increase playback speed
- Scroll Wheel Down: Decrease playback speed
- (Ctrl+P): Toggle play/pause
- Spacebar: Toggle between first-person and third-person view
- Left/Right Mouse Button: Detach from first-person and third-person view to free camera
- F1–F12: Spectate players (corresponds with player list in media controls)
- 0: Snap to the objective
- (Ctrl+L): Show map overlay
- (Ctrl+1) – (Ctrl+9): Save bookmarks
- 1–9: Restore camera bookmarks
A complete list of shortcuts can be found by pressing Esc and selecting Options > Controls > Spectate. These keyboard shortcuts are fully customizable.
Observe Like a Pro
Here are a few tips to help you level up your Replays experience:
- If you want to learn how a specific player uses a hero, make sure to spectate both them and the enemy they’re attacking. This will help you understand the difference in their play styles.
- Using the map overlay (Ctrl+I) to watch a match will help you understand how team fights unfold. The icons for each hero provide status indicators so you can see exactly what is happening to that player.
- For the best view when using the map overlay, position your camera high in the sky and look straight down at the ground. This allows you to see an overhead map when using the tool.
- Setting up static cameras in specific locations can help you view fights from multiple perspectives and better understand team rotations. Remember to bookmark your locations each new match.
- If you’re creating highlight footage for videos, don’t overuse slow motion. For the most dramatic effect, slow down the most impactful moments of a play or a team fight.