Hello Blizzard Support and Community,
I am reaching out because I have been facing a persistent and very frustrating issue with the voice chat functionality in Overwatch 2. After extensive troubleshooting (on my own, with IT-affine friends, and following various online guides), the issue remains unresolved.
Problem Description:
My microphone (HyperX QuadCast 2 S USB Microphone, tested with other microphones as well) works perfectly in Windows 11.
It works flawlessly inside the Blizzard App (Blizzard Voice Chat).
However, in Overwatch 2, the microphone is not recognized or functional in any match, regardless of settings.
No input is detected, and enabling/disabling voice chat inside the game does not change the behavior.
Setup:
Windows 11 (fully updated)
HyperX QuadCast 2 S USB Microphone (tested with alternative microphones via USB-C and USB-A)
Nvidia Broadcast completely disabled during tests
Discord completely closed (not running)
Overwatch 2 launched with DX11 (also tested with DX12 Beta)
Troubleshooting Already Done:
On Windows / System Level:
Set the correct Default and Default Communication Device.
Confirmed microphone access granted under Privacy Settings.
Deactivated exclusive control under device properties.
Set sampling rate to 48000 Hz / 16 bit (DVD quality standard).
Also tested 44100 Hz / 16 bit (no change).
Ran sfc /scannow – no integrity violations found.
Updated all audio drivers and verified device manager (no issues).
Ensured no background applications (Discord, Nvidia Broadcast, etc.) were blocking microphone access.
Verified all device permissions and registry access (SYSTEM ownership with full control confirmed).
On Overwatch 2 / Blizzard Level:
Reset all Overwatch 2 settings to default.
Deleted complete Overwatch 2 settings folder under %Documents%.
Fully reinstalled Overwatch 2 after cleaning Blizzard App caches.
Confirmed Blizzard App detects and uses the microphone without issues.
Launched Overwatch 2 and Blizzard App as Administrator.
Tested both Auto-Join enabled and disabled for voice chat.
Manually tried joining voice chat in lobbies and matches.
Tested a virtual microphone via Voicemeeter Banana – same behavior.
Attempted different USB ports (USB-C direct and USB-C to USB-A adapter).
Observations:
Microphone is correctly recognized and works in Blizzard App Voice Chat.
Microphone is not recognized inside Overwatch 2 itself.
Voice Chat manual activation inside Overwatch does not solve the issue.
Tested with multiple microphones – issue persists.
All other applications (Discord, Blizzard App, Windows) work correctly.
The issue is isolated to Overwatch 2.
Summary:
At this point, I have ruled out hardware, driver, system-level configuration, and basic application settings as possible causes.
It appears to be a game-specific issue related to Overwatch 2’s device handling or voice system under Windows 11.
Request:
I would kindly ask for a deeper technical investigation regarding this issue.
Specifically:
Are there any known compatibility problems with certain USB microphones in Overwatch 2?
Are there additional settings, startup parameters, or workarounds available?
Is there any way to force Overwatch 2 to re-enumerate or refresh input devices after launch?
Any insights, advice, or official acknowledgement would be very much appreciated.
Best regards,
derzwo
p.s.: Also filed a ticket #98627394 , which led to this forum post.
I am happy to provide further diagnostics such as DxDiag reports, MSInfo files, or other system logs if that would assist in investigating this issue.