Overwatch 2 is just Overwatch now and (probably) forever

Blizzard drops the '2' for the game's 10th anniversary

Overwatch 2 is going to be just Overwatch again, as Blizzard drops the sequel pretensions for its hero shooter and wants people to think of it as a single entity, rather than a chronological franchise. Blizzard made the announcement during its Overwatch Spotlight showcase — which, notably, wasn't called "Overwatch 2 Spotlight" — on Wednesday, highlighting what's ahead for the game in 2026.

"Every year, we aim to bring major updates that improve and expand what it means to play and experience Overwatch," game director Aaron Keller said during the Spotlight. "We realized Overwatch is a game that transcends any single number. Moving forward, we're dropping the '2' and continuing simply as Overwatch."

Blizzard is adopting a yearly story model for Overwatch moving forward. Every year will include six seasons tied to a new story, with events and additions to the game coinciding with the story's major milestones. Keller also said Blizzard will tell the story across in-game events, comics, stories, and videos — similar, presumably, to the animated Vendetta trailer and the short that kicked off the Spotlight — which will all live in the in-game "story" tab.

The name change means there won't be an Overwatch 3, and nothing is being taken away from what made Overwatch 2 itself in 2025. Blizzard plans to build on what went over well with players in the years after it scrapped the game's PvE mode. Stadium is still one of the game's pillars and is getting bigger every season. Season one will see five new characters with roles in the Overwatch universe that frame the new conflict with Talon, and Blizzard is adding more voice lines for existing characters plus two new maps for core modes.

Folks on the Overwatch 2 subreddit speculated something like this might be in the works after some users spotted a Steam product update that removed the "2" — and they seemed happy at the prospect. Some argued it was a long-overdue change since, they said, we "never really got Overwatch 2." And even those who thought it was different enough to be a sequel never really stopped thinking of it as "just Overwatch."

Blizzard originally had big plans for Overwatch 2 as a sequel, plans that included a substantial PvE element with replayable story missions, an expansion to the tale of global conflict between Overwatch and the nefarious organization Talon, and a shift toward faster, more damage-focused combat. All that came at the expense of the original Overwatch, which Blizzard shut down when Overwatch 2 launched in October 2022, and only one of those changes ever manifested. PvE mode was scrapped, and the few missions that did land in the game met with poor reception. Story only became a focus again in the latter half of 2025. Combat did change, as Overwatch 2 shifted to 5v5 team setups instead of the original game's 6v6. But after prolonged complaints about hero types blurring together into different flavors of damage, Blizzard started making a character's role central to their kit again.

The name changeover will happen when Overwatch season 1 goes live on Feb. 10.