Overwatch Officially Being Shut Down by Blizzard Soon

Blizzard Entertainment has revealed that it will officially be shutting down Overwatch in the very near future. After first being released back in 2016, Blizzard has gone on to support Overwatch continually with new Heroes, modes, events, and a ton of other content that has continued to resonate with fans. Now, to make way for the release of Overwatch 2 in just a couple of short weeks, Blizzard has detailed when it will be shutting down the original game. 

In a statement given to Eurogamer, Blizzard's Jon Spector detailed more about the impending shutdown of Overwatch. Specifically, Spector said that the popular multiplayer game will be closing down around one day prior to the release of Overwatch 2. While this means that no version of Overwatch will be playable over this span of time, the shutdown is being done so that Blizzard can successfully get the servers for the sequel up and running.

"So roughly a day before Overwatch 2 launches, we're going to be taking down the Overwatch 1 servers," Spector explained. "So that means, as a practical point, that October 2nd really is the last day to go in and play Overwatch 1. And then it's a 27-hour downtime that we're planning in order to get the Overwatch 2 server stood up and running."

While this might seem like a concerning move for many Overwatch fans, it's worth stressing that Overwatch 2 is going to be free-to-play. As such, when it arrives on October 4th, players across Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms will be able to download and play the game without a monetary barrier of entry. Furthermore, Spector also made clear that Overwatch 2 will be available for pre-loading prior to its official launch. So if you'd like to use that one-day downtime between games to download Overwatch 2, you'll be able to do so. 

Are you sad to hear that the original Overwatch will be shutting down in early October? And are you planning to play Overwatch 2 for yourself when it does arrive? Be sure to let me know either down in the comments or message me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.