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Category:
Overwatch

Overwatch’s newest patch includes hotfixing and PTR shared install

These tiny hardware updates will make a big difference in disk space.
Image of Liz Richardson
Liz Richardson
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Published: Aug 27, 2019 02:42 pm

This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information
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Every Overwatch patch doesn’t need to be full of game-changing updates to be important.

Patch 1.39, released two weeks ago, included a new hero and multiple hero overhauls. Today, Overwatch announced that Patch 1.39.2 is now on the live servers. While it seems tiny, it packs a big punch in quality of life changes.

Hotfixing

Normally, even the most minor of updates, also called hotfixes, required the Overwatch client to restart. For many players, this wasn’t that big of an inconvenience. But for others, it may have ruined a few quality games. With Patch 1.39.2, the Overwatch client can now receive hotfixes without restarting. This means tiny bug fixes and game changes can be installed without any of your games being interrupted.

The catch is that hotfixing requires online connectivity, access to the disk Overwatch is installed on, and sufficient disk space. If any of these aren’t immediately available, a user might receive an error message. The Overwatch patch notes include links to fix these specific problems for PC gamers.

Shared install

For Overwatch players with less disk space, this change definitely proves that sharing is caring. The live Overwatch client that’s used to run the game can now share install space with the Public Test Realm (PTR). The PTR is used to test new patches before they hit the live servers.

Before this change, the PTR was installed separately from the Overwatch live client. The PTR is by no means a large install, but for users who are low on disk space, it was an extra burden on their computers. The PTR install should now only take up 1.2 GB of extra storage, according to the update.

Users who already have the PTR installed must uninstall the PTR client and reinstall it to benefit from this feature, but it’s well worth the time required for reorganization. As a bonus, the Overwatch League Replay Viewer will also share install space with the live client and PTR, further reducing the space needed to enjoy the viewer.

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Author
Image of Liz Richardson
Liz Richardson
Liz is a freelance writer and editor from Chicago. Her favorite thing is the Overwatch League; her second favorite thing is pretending iced coffee is a meal. She specializes in educational content, patch notes that (actually) make sense, and aggressively supporting Tier 2 Overwatch. When she's not writing, Liz is expressing hot takes on Twitter and making bad life choices at Target.
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