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Overwatch 2 will fully replace the original game when it launches

Enjoy 6v6 while it lasts because once Overwatch 2 launches, the original game and core playstyle will be unavailable.

TJ Denzer

June 23, 2022 3:50 PM

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The road to Overwatch 2’s launch has been long and strange. After being announced at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard Entertainment has been quietly working on the game for the last few years with only a few updates here and there. That silence was broken this year and Blizzard even opted to do a Reddit AMA on the game ahead of its release in October. It was here that Overwatch 2 leads revealed that the game will entirely replace the original Overwatch, gameplay and all.

The aforementioned Overwatch 2 AMA was hosted on the r/Games Subreddit on June 22, 2022. It was here that the team revealed that once Overwatch 2 launches, it will be altogether replacing the original Overwatch as a live service game. Theoretically, that means that players won’t be able to access the original Overwatch through Battle.net services once Overwatch 2 launches. Given that the original Overwatch is almost entirely an online multiplayer game, that means there won't be any reasonable way to play it in official capacity afterwards.

While in many ways, this probably won’t matter to a lot of Overwatch players, the shift in gameplay is sure to be a concern for some. The original Overwatch is 6v6 and Overwatch 2 will be shifting to a 5v5 format. Those who favor the 6v6 style will be out of luck once Overwatch 2 comes out unless the classic multiplayer is included as a side mode or in limited-time events. Unfortunately, that also means that if you don’t care for the changes in the upcoming Overwatch 2, you can’t go back to the original game.

Overwatch 2 is slated to launch in October 2022. As we get closer to the launch date, stay tuned for more details, including the reveal of further new characters like Junker Queen. We’ll share further updates here at Shacknews as they become available.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.