With CDPR announcing that The Witcher 3: Remastered and Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition will launch on Battle.net, there has been widespread speculation about whether Battle.net, following Microsoft's acquisition, will transform into an open PC distribution store for the entire industry. Recently, Andrew Guerrero, head of the Blizzard platform, clarified this in an interview, stating: "Battle.net will not become an open third-party game distribution platform like Steam or Epic."
Since its inception, Battle.net's positioning has differed from general PC stores. It originally launched as an online service alongside Diablo I, primarily serving games under the Blizzard, Activision, and Xbox/Bethesda umbrellas, targeting their core player base. Although the integration process has now been optimized and no longer requires deep custom adaptation for every external game, there will be no self-service listing tools, and developers will not be allowed to submit games for inclusion with a single click.
For third-party games to be added to the library, Blizzard will enforce high-standard manual selection, prioritizing titles that align with Battle.net players' preferences and offer high quality. Indiscriminately expanding the range of included games would place a huge burden on the screening and review process, which is not the direction Battle.net intends to take. The inclusion of multiple CDPR titles this time is a carefully selected partnership case after evaluation and does not mean the platform is fully opening its doors to all publishers.
This collaboration between CDPR and Blizzard goes beyond just listing games: The Witcher 3: Remastered, the Old Songs DLC, and Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition will be available for purchase on the Battle.net store within the year. Diablo IV will feature a Geralt Barbarian skin. Overwatch will add content themed around Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. More crossover items from The Witcher series will be released in the future.
Blizzard also stated that Battle.net will continue to iterate on the client experience and integrate deeply with the Xbox ecosystem. However, different games will still retain multi-platform distribution strategies, and some major Blizzard titles will continue to launch on other PC stores such as Steam in the future.