Overwatch 2 will replace the original Overwatch at launch this October
October 4 is not only the official release date for Overwatch 2, but it will also mark a new era in the Overwatch universe. Back when Overwatch 2 was announced by Blizzard Entertainment, it was originally stated that both games would be able to share their multiplayer game modes in some capacity.
According to Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller, this is no longer going to be the case. Aaron Keller goes on to say in a Reddit post, “When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.”
This means that original Overwatch fans, you have a little under 4 months to play Overwatch before the transition to Overwatch 2 is going to have to be made. If you try to load up the original Overwatch on October 4, you will be asked to download Overwatch 2. This isn’t going to be the worst-case scenario for gamers as OW2 is going to be a free-to-play video game.
When Blizzard announced that both of these games had the potential to share their multiplayer, it didn’t make a ton of sense. It sounded good for gamers, but given what we know about Overwatch 2 now, there was no way that Blizzard would have been able to make it work without taking out some of the key features that are coming in OW2.
From what we do know, Overwatch 2 uses a 5v5 team format while the original Overwatch currently uses a 6v6 team format. Obviously, this would pose a problem if both multiplayer games existed alongside each other.
The only other thing that Blizzard could have done if they so choose to would be to keep both games active at the same time, but not make them compatible with one another. Take the Call of Duty franchise, for example. You can go back and play just about any Call of Duty multiplayer you want as long as there are enough players playing the game. Just because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is coming out doesn’t mean I can’t go and play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. If I really wanted to do that, I could load up the game right now and go play as long as others are playing it as well.
light. Must Read. Overwatch 2 Beta sign-ups start this week for Xbox, PlayStation and PC
Blizzard could have done that with the Overwatch franchise, but they want to make sure that they keep a unified community on Overwatch 2 and bring fans of the original and new game together. Now, all of Blizzard’s focus can be dialed into Overwatch 2 and we can expect many new features released throughout the game’s lifespan. Overwatch 2 will be available to download on October 4 and it seems like that date is coming up and a lightning pace.