Blizzard pulls the worst Ultimate: Overwatch 2 will kill off Overwatch

The original Overwatch launched in 2016, and now that Blizzard has Overwatch 2 ready for release, we're finding out some upsetting news.

Blizzard will be killing off the original Overwatch the second that Overwatch 2 goes live on October 4, confirmed by Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller in a recent AMA on Reddit. Overwatch 2 launches with a bunch of new heroes, maps, and so much more, but the original Overwatch... will be killed off.

In the Reddit AMA, one of the questions was "What does the term "Early Access" means for Overwatch 2? Does this means that on this day OW1 is getting replaced by OW2's PvP or will OW1 shutdown once the game is out of Early Access?"

Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller explained: "When OW2 launches on October 4th it will be a replacement for the current live service".

• Read more: Overwatch 2 has 'significant engine upgrades': better graphics & more
• Read more: Overwatch 2 is basically a PVE expansion

The developer announced Overwatch 2 back at BlizzCon 2019, where they said that it wouldn't be leaving the original Overwatch players out. At the time, Blizzard said that if you didn't buy Overwatch 2 you'd still get all of the new heroes they were adding into the sequel and that you'd be able to play alongside Overwatch 2 gamers with full PvP cross-play. Not only that, but all progress, cosmetics, and rankings from OW1 would carry over to OW2. Ha! All lies.

The Overwatch 2 development team spoke with The Verge, where they said: "Our goal is to not divide our player base and to make the transition to Overwatch 2 as seamless as possible. To that end, when Overwatch 2 launches as a free-to-play live service game on October 4th, it will replace the current Overwatch build. Content players have unlocked in Overwatch will automatically carry over to players in Overwatch 2".

• Read more: Overwatch 2 content roadmap: Season 1 starts Oct 4, Season 2 on Dec 6
• Read more: Overwatch 2 Beta launches June 28, sign-ups kick off June 16
• Read more: Overwatch 2 releases on October 4, Junker Queen joins the team
• Read more: Blizzard posts players' feedback from Overwatch 2 PvP beta so far
• Read more: Overwatch 2 Closed Beta drops April 26, early PC specs revealed

As a huge fan of the game, this really pisses me off -- I get that the original Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan is gone -- but man, they've really made this a mess. Overwatch 2 launches, and now completely overwrites the original Overwatch when it does.

Don't like 5v5 and want 6v6? Too bad. Overwatch 2 it is for you, or nothing.