Overwatch beta attracts 9.7 million players - Blizzard's biggest ever

Blizzard invited players to try its new hero-shooter in beta before its official release, and try it they did: 9.7 million players leapt into Overwatch across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, according to the publisher. Participants played more than 37 million matches of the game during the beta period. 

That makes this the biggest beta in the company's history. 

In fact, it's even bigger than the audience for Ubisoft's The Division, at 9.5 million -- and that's the best-launched game in that publisher's history. Of course, it's not an exactly apples-to-apples comparison, as the Overwatch beta was free and The Division is a paid product.

Blizzard's game was free to play from May 5th through May 9th. It releases for purchase on May 24th.

Want to better understand the game? Gamasutra recently took a look at the rise of the hero shooter genre, which includes Overwatch.