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Blizzard has seemingly confirmed that the upcoming Overwatch 2 will outright replace the original game when it arrives in October.
Members of the development team from Blizzard took part in a Reddit AMA on the sequel earlier this week. During the event, a member asked the question whether the sequel would replace the first Overwatch. Game Director Aaron Keller responded in the affirmative. “When OW2 launches on October 4, it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.”
Overwatch 2 somewhat changes the formula for the hero shooter quite considerably. While the original features six-versus-six matchups, the sequel loses a player from each team. The make-up of teams has also changed with different roles, and the jury’s still out on which players prefer. It seems from October, they won’t have a choice.
On the positive side, the sequel is going for a free-to-play approach. Another question asked about the transition was the fate of existing lootboxes and currencies. While currencies will come across to the new game (though there will be some things you can’t buy with OW1 credits), lootboxes won’t be a part of the sequel. As a result, any lootboxes currently in your inventory will be automatically opened and the contents sent to your inventory before launch.
As a free-to-play offering, Keller confirmed the ‘Early Access’ means there’ll be many new additions to the game on a regular basis. These include new heroes, new maps and new features – which will come seasonally at around nine weeks per season. The game will also get its promised PvE campaign at some point next year.
Overwatch 2 is scheduled to launch into early access from October 4, 2022 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStati0n 4 and PC.
#Overwatch2 arrives October 4, ushering in a new era for the franchise as a free-to-play live service game!
Learn more about the game and our commitment to deliver frequent seasonal content updates that expand the game to ensure there’s always something new to play. pic.twitter.com/tAzPPtvcP0
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 16, 2022
