for FREE

Battle.net has a long history. It was the first game launcher/installer released to the public, and its success has led other developers to try to follow in its footsteps. Previously only including Blizzard titles, some Activision games now use it as well.

Compared to other game distribution platforms, it's rather minimalistic. You can purchase, install, launch, and update your games, as well as connect with your friends and chat, but it doesn't provide an overlay or other in-game features, as these are normally built into Blizzard games directly.

While Battle.net has been redesigned a few times throughout its existence, it has always been very intuitive. The limited number of available games helps, but the app's layout is smartly designed as well.

All the games you're interested in will be visible in a toolbar at the top, and you can manage these titles by adding or removing them from your favorites. Clicking on a game's icon brings up a dedicated page where you can install and launch them, visit their shop or forum, and read patch notes.

When it comes to connecting with friends, Battle.net has pretty much everything you need. You can see what everyone is doing, chat with them, view profiles, see their wishlists, create groups, and so on. You now also have the option to go invisible, which is always nice.

It's also worth appreciating that Battle.net has fairly capable voice chat, which can be used as an alternative to the in-game chat offered by all of their games. You can also use it to chat while not playing anything. However, the lack of noise filtering can make things rather annoying.

While there aren't too many features to play around with, you can change how your games are updated. You can turn automatic updates on or off, limit download speeds for current and future patches, or even set up a schedule.

If you aren't interested in what your friends are doing, you can disable all notifications. However, while you can set your status to offline, there is no option to remain online but hide what you're playing, something you can do in Steam.

In the end, Battle.net isn't designed to do a whole lot, and while it can be improved in certain respects, it's a well-designed launcher. Now we just have to wait for Blizzard to release a good game again.