When Overwatch 2 Launches, It Will Be Replacing The Original Game

If you’ve been confused about what’s going to happen to Overwatch when Overwatch 2 comes out, a recent Reddit AMA with the team has cleared that up...a little. Yesterday, the Overwatch 2 team took to Reddit to answer player questions. Among the many questions they got was one asking for clarity on what will happen to Overwatch once the sequel launches. More specifically, they asked if the first Overwatch would shut down.

The answer may or may not please current players, but at least it’s an answer. The reply simply stated, “When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.” Meaning when the new game launches, that’s what everyone will have to play. That’s probably one of the reasons Overwatch 2 PvP is going free-to-play, as shutting down the first game means those players would have otherwise been forced to buy Overwatch 2 rather than being able to happily continue where they’re at. This way, they can easily move over without having to pay for being kicked out of their current home.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.