Technologies

Loverwatch: How to Play, Secret Ending, Sequel Chances

The Overwatch dating sim is one of the best things Blizzard has ever done with the game.

Loverwatch is a web-based dating sim — the biggest and best surprise Overwatch 2 has delivered. In the game, you’re guided by Hanzo in Cupid form as he helps you navigate your way to Genji’s or Mercy’s heart — whether that means friendship or romance is up to you. The journey will take you to Overwatch locales like a Midtown comedy club and a five-star restaurant in Circuit Royale as you spend time with your date and get to know them better. It’s a hilarious ride filled with self-aware jokes and a surprising amount of heart.

You can play Loverwatch by going to loverwatch.gg. It plays directly in your web browser — no downloads required. Simply follow the prompts on screen, follow Cupid’s advice, and interact with your dates. If you sign in to your Battle.net account, you’ll be able to earn in-game rewards for successfully winning the admiration of the Overwatch heroes.

As I mentioned in CNET’s season 3 guide, the Overwatch roster is overflowing with eligible dates. Of those 30-plus heroes, though, Genji and Mercy are two of the most popular, with plenty of backstory to draw from. That makes them good choices for Loverwatch, which is hopefully just the first iteration of a larger Overwatch dating sim. The game itself hints at the hopes of doing more.

Loverwatch, as weird and unexpected as the project might seem, is one of the best things Overwatch has produced. CNET got to talk to the game’s writers and brand manager in media interviews the day after its launch. Here’s what we learned about the game’s origins and the possibility of fans getting more in the future.

Is Loverwatch canon?

No. The writers pulled from the characters’ personalities based on longstanding lore and in-game interactions, but the events of the dating sim aren’t canon. The game states that upfront before players begin courting the hero of their choice.

How to get the secret ending

For the rewards hunters: Genji and Mercy are the two options at the start of the game, but theirs aren’t the only hearts you can win. If you successfully form a connection with both heroes, you’ll unlock a secret ending where Cupid himself tells you that he admires your dedication to love in all its forms. You’ll get a unique reward for earning this ending, which transfers to your Battle.net account.

Why a dating sim?

Overwatch has needed something like this for years. It’s a bright, vibrant game filled with characters who inspire late-night lore-binging sessions, yet the core game is a competitive shooter — not the most inviting or accessible environment for everyone. A dating sim is a great way for Blizzard to get the game and its characters out in front of more people without asking them to go through the terrors of online matchmaking. The writers do a remarkable job of slipping in-jokes into the dialogue for people who’ve played for years, while still providing context for people who might’ve joined when Overwatch 2 launched as a free-to-play game.

The developers seem to be aware of the potential for engagement outside of the core gameplay. Overwatch Brand Manager Beth Bryson said that, as part of the game’s new free-to-play model, «We’re going to give [fans] ways to experience the Overwatch world and experience our heroes and interact with them in unique and different ways,» and Loverwatch is the introductory path.

According to Senior Narrative Designer Miranda Moyer, heroes are the lifeblood of the game, and the Overwatch developers were enthusiastic about giving fans an opportunity to interact with those heroes in a more character-focused experience. Moyer wrote Genji’s path in the dating sim.

Narrative Designer Kyungseo Min, who wrote Mercy’s path, said, «We wanted to [expand the universe] in a way where we wanted to include members of the community who kinda felt left out by the PVP experience,» and that a project like Loverwatch gives them the opportunity to expand while being inclusive.

Will there be more Overwatch dating sims?

Everyone who plays the game seems to be asking for more. Bryson said the hope is that the player response will be big enough to explore other avenues like Loverwatch. «I think there’s a very large appetite for that within the team. No promises, but we certainly make a stronger case for ourselves if players are jumping in and enjoying it.»

Moyer added, «There is absolutely a lot of enthusiasm behind this project, and we have a ton of ideas for the rest of the cast.»

Maybe your ultimate hope is to be able to court the troubled-but-wholesome members of Overwatch or the more complicated heroes like Ashe or the members of Talon. Or perhaps you just have an unquenchable thirst for one of the game’s omnics. Regardless, the best way to guarantee that possibility is to go play Loverwatch right now. Trust me, it’s worth the 10 minutes or so a single playthrough will take you, and you’ll be helping out the entire Overwatch community by advancing our obsession.

For more on Overwatch, check out how the newest hero expands the game’s lore and what you can find in the new map.

Technologies

Memorial Day Deal: The Apple Watch SE Returns to Its Best Price of 2025 So Far

Buy the Apple Watch SE for just $169 before the deal ends.

Memorial Day deals are in full swing right now and one of our top-rated smartwatches is on sale. The Apple Watch SE has dropped to its best price of the year, albeit one that might not last for long. If an Apple Watch SE is on your wish list, this deal is for you — order today, and you’ll pay just $169 for the 40mm version in your choice of case and band combinations.

Given the sometimes volatile pricing, we suggest ordering as soon as possible. This is your chance to pick up a solid smartwatch at a price that won’t break the bank.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The Apple Watch SE is a great wearable. It also makes an excellent first smartwatch for kids. Features include crash detection, heart rate monitoring and activity tracking. Apple also says this model is carbon-neutral when you choose the Sport Loop band.

Looking to compare prices on Apple Watches? We’ve rounded up the best Apple Watch bargains. And if you’re hoping for a new iPhone to pair with that watch, we’ve rounded up our favorite iPhone deals, too.

Why this deal matters

We’re big fans of Apple’s smartwatches but not everyone can pay to put the company’s premium models on their wrist. The Apple Watch SE offers many of the same features on a budget, and this is your chance to get it for even less than usual. This is the lowest price we’ve seen this model fall to in the last few months, which makes now the perfect time to order yours.

Technologies

What to Expect (and Not Expect) From OpenAI and Jony Ive’s AI-Centric ‘Screenless Phone’

Here’s everything we know so far about the mysterious upcoming AI device from the iPhone designer and creator of ChatGPT.

AI is coming for your phones — this you know by now and maybe you’ve already experienced it for yourself in the form of Apple Intelligence or Google’s Gemini.

But OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and perhaps the biggest name in AI software and services right now, is making a different bet. It’s looking beyond the traditional smartphone and thinking about how AI might reinvent our devices altogether.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it had bought Jony Ive’s device startup IO for $6.5 billion. Together, Ive and Altman are building something new — a device unlike anything we’ve owned before, with AI at its core.

«It became clear that our ambitions to develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company,» the pair said in a statement about their working relationship. «The IO team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.»

Ive is the visionary veteran Apple designer, who together with Steve Jobs created the iPhone, along with a long list of Apple devices. Now he’s turned his attention to creating a fresh device category, which has clearly piqued the interest of Altman. Ive’s startup has reportedly been working on a «screenless phone» — although other reports suggest it’s actually not a phone at all.

Rumors of this mysterious AI-focused device have been circulating for months but Ive and Altman are keeping a tight lid on the details, fearing that a competitor may try to beat them to market.

So, for now, we’ll just have to imagine.

The obvious existing point of comparison is the Humane AI Pin, an AI-specific device designed to be worn clipped to your collar. It launched to much fanfare in February 2024, but turned out to be a spectacular failure, creating a lasting air of pessimism around the entire idea of AI devices.

«It is unsurprising that there is skepticism about this type of product, particularly in the context of the high-profile failure of the Humane AI, which captured the imagination of tech enthusiasts, including me, but turned out to be a classic example of over-promising and under-delivering,» said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.

The combination of Ive and Altman though, is full of potential. «It would be foolish to bet against Jony Ive, given his remarkable track record of delivering products that disrupt a market,» said Wood.

«I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,» Ive said in a YouTube video in which the pair talk about their friendship.

Their challenge, says Thoman Husson, VP principal analyst at Forrester, «is not just to use AI to enhance existing tasks, but to invent new products and experiences.»

That said, OpenAI’s ambitions for its AI devices are that it’s able to ship 100 million units — a bold bet for a software company entering the hardware space for the first time, with no pre-established supply chain.

«Jony Ive is an exceptional designer but smartphones (and hardware) is a volume play about scale and scope,» said Husson. «I think Apple is still best placed to win this marathon race.»

A wearable? Glasses? A phone? Perhaps not

In the absence of any substantial hints or clues, we remain for now in the dark as to what this first piece of OpenAI hardware will look like, how it will function and how it will fit into our lives.

There’s been some speculation, based largely on claims made by reliable Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, that the OpenAI device will be a wearable. In a social media post, Kuo said the io product was designed to be worn around the neck and was «as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle.»

This would indicate that Altman and Ive are taking a different approach to Meta, which has gone all in on smart glasses. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the glasses are the ultimate AI device, because of their ability to receive and deliver information in close proximity to your eyes and and ears.

But we should also be prepared for the possibility that Altman and Ive’s device isn’t a wearable at all. According to the Wall Street Journal, Altman said Ive was skeptical about the idea of AI wearables, making it sound unlikely that he would embrace them as part of this project.

Citing a briefing given by Altman to OpenAI employees, the WSJ reports that the device «will be unobtrusive, able to rest in one’s pocket or on one’s desk, and will be a third core device a person would put on a desk after a MacBook Pro and an iPhone.»

It’s curious to see the OpenAI screenless phone being discussed this way, almost as if it falls within Apple’s specific family of products. The WSJ said Altman is envisaging in the long term «a family of devices,» which will be defined by what Ive described as «a new design movement.»

Perhaps the only thing we know for sure about this product is that it won’t come with a screen. Altman has been critical of the amount of time we spend looking at screens — but is there room on the market for devices that tempt us away from our screens? «Except smartwatches, no new product category has emerged since the smartphone,» said Husson. «There is room for disruption and innovation.»

This not-a-phone, not-a-wearable currently exists to us only as an amorphous third thing — and likely will do for some time yet. Keep checking back for more rumors and updates, which we will add as we get more information about what kind of device may rule our lives in the near future, just as the smartphone does today.