Starting October 4th, you’ll never be able to play Overwatch 1 again

Overwatch 2 will be released on October 4th as a Free2Play title. As Blizzard has once again made clear in a Reddit AMA, this also means the end of Overwatch 1.

in one Reddit AMA — sort of an interview with the entire reddit community — on June 22nd, Overwatch 2 developers answered questions from fans. One of the most important information from this thread was the clear statement that Overwatch 1 will disappear completely as soon as Part 2 is released on October 4th as a Free2Play title.

What do the developers say? In response to a question about the game’s Early Access title, director Aaron Keller stated, “When OW2 launches on October 4th, it will be a replacement for the current live service.” will no longer exist in its current form, but will be completely and completely replaced by Overwatch 2. On the PC, it even runs from the same file: Overwatch.exe.

For years it was unclear what would happen to Overwatch 1

Why is this statement important? A tweet shortly after the Overwatch 2 reveal has caused confusion for years. It said that Overwatch 1 and 2 players will play together on the same maps. The community didn’t know if that means Overwatch 1 and 2 will be playable at the same time, or if the sequel will replace the original.

Recommended Editorial Content

At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.

Show Twitter content

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.

Now it’s clear: Overwatch 1 will no longer be playable with the release of Part 2. For many players who have already been able to test the beta of the successor, this is not a problem. The changes in part 2 are so good that part 1 looks “unplayable” in comparison.

Here’s the gameplay trailer of Overwatch 2’s newest heroine, Junker Queen:

Choose an MMO video…

There will probably not be a kind of “Overwatch Classic”.

Is Overwatch 1 Coming Again? Since the assumption that Overwatch 1 will be completely replaced has been circulating for almost 3 years, some fans are hoping for a kind of “Overwatch Classic” – that is, that Overwatch will be made available at launch, similar to what happened with WoW Classic.

Back in 2020, former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan stated that a hypothetical ‘Overwatch Classic’ would be “very expensive from a technical and artistic point of view” (via Twitter). There were also hints that Blizzard itself has not (fully) archived Overwatch in the old form, so such a kind of restoration will probably not happen.

What do you think of this announcement? Do you want to continue playing Overwatch 1, or do you like part 2 better with all the changes? Tell us in the comments.

By the way: If you want to play Overwatch 2, you absolutely need a mobile phone