I’m sorry, player, I’m afraid I can’t let you play this game. Image: Blizzard / Kotaku
Right now there’s a Halloween event for Overwatch 2, but quite a few players are facing a different kind of terror: a previously known server error with the code “LC-208” seems to disproportionately affect players after the most recent update.
While server and connection errors are common in online games, “Overwatch 2 Console Error LC-208” currently plagues a large number of players on the console, preventing them from connecting to servers and playing the game. Blizzard has its own steps to get around this issue, as it’s been around since the game’s launch, but not in such numbers. Until Blizzard released a broader statement or additional fix, players have discovered idiosyncratic, inexplicable ways to fix it, logging into PC first or loading into the game’s firing range and stopping before hitting matchmaking, although these aren’t necessarily bulletproof recipes.
Kotaku has contacted Blizzard for comment, but has not heard anything prior to publication.
Since yesterday’s Halloween update, there have been numerous reports of players unable to enter the game in search results on Twitter, Reddit, and even Overwatch 2’s own forums. Given the error code information, the problem seems to affect only console players. Anecdotally, it seems to affect PS4 and PS5 players the most, although many Xbox players are reportedly facing the error as well.
A common thread for the LC-208 issue on Blizzard’s official forums, with nearly 300 comments and over 2,500 views, starts with “LC-208’d after the Halloween event update. Never had a problem with this before. Can’t come into play.” “I tried everything to fix the login error LC-208,” said Twitter user Phish (no, not the band). “I logged out of my Battle Net account, restarted my . [router]restarted my game, used a different wireless connection, tried to use ethernet and downloaded the game again and I’m still getting LC-208.”
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They’re not alone, as countless tweets and Reddit threads read similarly. Some have found non-optimal solutions. Twitter user hatsune niiku reports that he got around the LC-208 bug on the console by entering the game’s firing range on the PC, closing the game, and then logging into the console. “Just worked for me,” they say.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a gaming PC ready to try this out, nor is it a real solution to the problem. Blizzard recommends the following steps to resolve the LC-208 error. Hopefully you will succeed:
If your console account is linked to your Battle.net account, you must have a BattleTag. If you have a BattleTag but your accounts are not linked, please follow the connection steps below to resolve the error.
Note: If your Battle.net account is connected to your console account, disconnecting and reconnecting may resolve the error.
1. Check your network configuration to find any issues with your firewall, router, or port settings.
2. Reset your network devices to ensure that your router is not flooded with data.
3. If you are using a wireless connection, optimize your internet connection to rule out a connection problem.
4. Run your console’s built-in connection test (Playstation 4) (Xbox One) (Nintendo Switch).
5. Use your console’s internet browser to run a Looking Glass test. This will help determine if the problem is between your console and our servers.