​

Blizzard confirmed yesterday in a roundtable interview that October 2 will be the last day users are able to play the original Overwatch that released in 2016. The servers will shut down sometime on October 2 (if you're in the Pacific timezone; no specific time was mentioned, so it may be October 3 depending on your timezone), and roughly 27 hours later the Overwatch 2 servers will go up, at which point it will be the only Overwatch experience in operation.

"We'll give current Overwatch players the ability to download Overwatch 2 a little bit ahead of when we launch, if they want to pre-download," said commercial lead Jon Spector. "We'll share a kind of launch checklist with players ahead of things so that they have a smooth experience getting in on 4th October, when we launch."

Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play, so old players won't need to pay again to upgrade to the new version, but the experience will undoubtedly be different in a free-to-play game. Reportedly, loot boxes will be a thing of the past, and will be replaced by a Battle Pass, with both a free and a premium version. There will also be an item shop where players can spend a premium currency to buy items directly. (More information on Overwatch 2's monetization can be found in Eurogamer's very detailed breakdown here.)

This release comes at the end of a somewhat troubled development cycle for Overwatch 2. Originally announced in 2019, it was expected to exist alongside the original, offering an alternate entry point into a shared multiplayer space rather than replacing the first Overwatch. Development continued quietly until last year when, in the months following the Activision Blizzard's legal troubles, its director and head developer both exited the company with more than a year remaining before release.

 

[sombrerosonic]

How long untill community servers are created for this game?

 

[Deleted member 194275]

For what I understood, Overwatch 2 is Overwatch 1 with single player. Or I understood everything wrong?

 

[masagrator]

If I understand correctly, people payed for Overwatch, devs are killing it because they are releasing a sequel and only compensation is having earlier access to Overwatch 2? I would be pretty pissed off tbh.

 

[relauby]

For what I understood, Overwatch 2 is Overwatch 1 with single player. Or I understood everything wrong?

I don't play Overwatch and I had a hard time finding a consensus on what people think of the sequel based on the beta. Seems like some love it, some hate it. Some think they changed too much, some think nothing changed. It's the definition of mixed, but to a point where it's hard to figure anything out about it.

 

[CeeDee]

What a travesty - what will the world do with those 27 Overwatch-less hours??

 

[Mayo1990]

Honestly, that's what OW1 should've been when Brig came in and literally destroyed the whole game. F2P + Battle Pass, ditching the Loot boxes formula. I remember Jeff also claimed that "he didn't want the game to go F2P yet". Honestly I'm looking forward in the F2P aspect rather than anything else so I can play with friends who didn't want to get into OW1 in the first place, but the rest is a huge snoozefest and heroes locked behind a Battle Pass are a huge no-no for a game such as Overwatch, which requires constant counter-swapping. Can't wait to see how it runs on Nintendo Switch as well

 

[Joe88]

You are going to end up almost paying $50-60 a year for premium battle passes.
The game is also p2w now since players who pony up that $10 will have a clear advantage against a team that doesnt have that hero, the new heroes are always broken and op on release, takes a month before proper nerfs are added.

 

[Scarlet]

say what you will about nintendo’s online being shitty, but holy wow do they keep it going. stuff like this sucks when you can still play games like Splatoon 1 online.

 

[NumberXIIIEdwin]

For what I understood, Overwatch 2 is Overwatch 1 with single player. Or I understood everything wrong?

They tried explaining like 4 different ways and every time it got more confusing. There’s two components, the single player campaign that’s gonna release sometime in the future for an undetermined price and the multiplayer which is free to play and replacing the original Overwatch entirely.

Edit: single player “campaign” is putting it kinda strongly. From what I can tell it’s PvE in a similar style to the story missions from the various Archive events but with some kind of character progression.

 

[The_Monado_Satyr]

For what I understood, Overwatch 2 is Overwatch 1 with single player. Or I understood everything wrong?

haven't heard or watched for 1p content but mvm is a thing

 

[Noctosphere]

My guess, they'll follow EA's example with TS4 and make OW1 free on October 3rd

 

[MikaDubbz]

Man, even stingey ole Nintendo still has up the Splatoon 1 and now Splatoon 2 servers, even though Splatoon 3 is out.

 

[Jayro]

I guess I'll be demanding a refund on my Overwatch 1 purchase then.

 

[ov3rkill]

RIP wallet of those people who just recently bought in the past few months.

 

[1B51004]

wasn't overwatch 2 MADE to be compatible with overwatch 1? or am i missing something?

if im not missing something, then this just seems unnecessary

 

[KitChan]

I don't play Overwatch and I had a hard time finding a consensus on what people think of the sequel based on the beta. Seems like some love it, some hate it. Some think they changed too much, some think nothing changed. It's the definition of mixed, but to a point where it's hard to figure anything out about it.

I played the beta and I'm not a fan of it. Nothing like the experience which drew me into OW back in 2016.

 

[N7Kopper]

"People like the old game better? Fuck that free market shit, SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING."
-ActiBlizz 2022

Remember! Women are fruit, because knowing what a woman is is offensive.

 

[Ghassen-ga]

I guess I'll be demanding a refund on my Overwatch 1 purchase then.

I own it on PS4 , bought it day one and still playing it ever since, would it be possible for me to ask for a refund ? i will never pay for a blizzard game ever again , wtf.

 

[Jayro]

I own it on PS4 , bought it day one and still playing it ever since, would it be possible for me to ask for a refund ? i will never pay for a blizzard game ever again , wtf.

The game barely had a 6 year lifespan... That's not what I expect when buying into a full-priced $60 shooter on PC. I expect it to last at LEAST 10 years, minimum. Meanwhile, TF2 is never going to die...