With the approaching release of Overwatch 2, it has been officially confirmed that the new title will replace the original Overwatch at launch.
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller confirmed the announcement during a Reddit AMA in which he said: “When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.”
Essentially, the original Overwatch will no longer be playable once Overwatch 2 is out. Players who try to launch Overwatch will be prompted to update to Overwatch 2. Blizzard’s reasoning behind the move is to ensure the playerbase is unified.
Originally, Overwatch and Overwatch 2 players would be able to play side-by-side if playing the same game modes. The original plan would allow Overwatch players to play on the new Overwatch 2 maps and as the new heroes.
Jeff Kaplan, the then-game director, said that it would be a “shared multiplayer environment where no one gets left behind.”
However, it has gone in a different direction. Overwatch 2 will also be free-to-play, where the original title was not. Overwatch will roll into Overwatch 2, which was already supposed to retain old legacy content while adding new maps and systems.
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The change means that 6v6 Overwatch matches will no longer be a thing, since Overwatch 2 only uses a 5v5 system.
Aaron Keller also added in the Reddit post that: “We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game.”
“We’re launching with new heroes, maps, and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2. Additionally, larger pieces of the game that have always been a part of the vision for OW2 will be released to the game as part of the live service, including the launch of the PvE Campaign next year.”
What do you think of this change? Are you happy or do you think this is a mistake?
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
