Overwatch 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch and multiple other platforms early next month as a free-to-play title.
As part of this, Blizzard has announced that it will be shutting down the original game’s servers. This comes a few days before the second game launches on his October 4th. A Blizzard commercial featuring his leader, Jon Spector, euro gamer:
“That means we’re going to take down the Overwatch 1 servers about a day before Overwatch 2 launches. So, as a practical point, October 2nd will be the last time we’ll actually be able to access and play Overwatch 1. And we’re planning on 27 hours of downtime to get the Overwatch 2 servers up and running.”
Overwatch players will be given the chance to preload the second game “shortly before” its release. Blizzard also appears to be sharing a “launch checklist” for players to ensure they’re ready when Overwatch 2 goes live.
It’s not just the original game server that gets dropped. Blizzard swaps Assault his maps for new push modes in Quickplay and Competitive modes. This will remove Hanamura, Volskaya and Temple of Anubis, but will still be accessible in custom game modes. Art of Overwatch His director, Dion Rogers, has this to say about this (via polygon):
“Losing the Assault map was a tough decision for us. Hanamura is personally one of my favorite maps in gaming, with its destroying Japanese aesthetic and arcade. I plan to reuse it in some way because it’s related [just like] Temple of Anubis and Volskaya. “
This follows on from Overwatch 2’s team reduction to 5v5 (including the removal of 1 tank from each team), and ditching loot boxes on the second outing There was news that it would adopt a battle pass system.
So, enjoy the original Overwatch and the map above. Are you planning to check out Overwatch 2 on Switch when it releases early next month? Please leave a comment below.