Blizzard confirms it’s killing Overwatch

Blizzard has officially confirmed what the community has suspected for some time now: When Overwatch 2 launches into early access this fall, the original Overwatch will no longer be playable.

That news comes from a recent Q&A on Reddit, in which director Aaron Keller offered a pretty unambiguous statement on Overwatch 1‘s fate. “When OW2 launches on October 4, it will be a replacement for the current Live Service,” Keller wrote.

On the surface, the move makes sense. Overwatch 2 will overlap significantly with the original game, offering all of the same maps, modes, and heroes alongside its new additions. And keeping both games available simultaneously would risk splintering the player base, not to mention the costs involved with running two sets of servers.

Still, given that some elements of Overwatch 2, such as the major reworks to heroes like Orisa and Doomfist, represent significant changes, rather than just more content, some players may be disappointed they won’t be able to go back to the original game at all.

Other answers in the Q&A further clarified how this will all work at launch. Because Overwatch 2 won’t have loot boxes, when the sequel replaces the original game, any loot boxes tied to your account will be automatically opened, with anything inside available to you in Overwatch 2. You’ll also keep all of the credits attached to your account, but some items in Overwatch 2 will only be available to purchase with the game’s new virtual currency. Jon Spector, the Overwatch commercial who shared that info, also promised more detail on the topic in the run-up to launch.

Overwatch 2 launches into early access October 4th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.