Overwatch 2 Will Replace Overwatch When It Enters In Early Access

 During a recent Reddit AMA, the Overwatch 2 team from Blizzard Entertainment answered questions from the community on the state of the franchise and the planned pseudo-sequel to its famous hero shooter. In one response, Blizzard confirms an important fact regarding OW2 when it launches in Early Access in the first week of October: it will completely replace the original Overwatch.

“We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game. We’re launching with new heroes, maps and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2. Additionally, larger pieces of the game that have always been a part of the vision for OW2 will be released to the game as part of the live service, including the launch of the PvE Campaign next year.”

Overwatch 2 will take the place of the original game and build off of it, rather than being a standalone software on your preferred console or the Blizzard launcher. While Overwatch 1 and 2 have always been scheduled to be linked into a single client and general roadmap, this is the first time Blizzard has publicly said that Overwatch 1 would be phased out fully when the sequel comes. Get your 6v6 games in now because they will not be available once OW2 Early Access is out.

This comment also mentions when PvE content will be available in OW2. Its first Early Access material this year will update the PvP experience with new heroes, maps, modes, and so on, but the much-touted narrative content for the sequel will arrive in 2023 instead of with the rest of the bundle. Overwatch 2 will be available for free on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on October 4.