Overwatch 2 will be replacing the original game when it goes into early access on October 4, rendering the first game unplayable in the process.

This news comes from the development team themselves, who was speaking at a Reddit AMA. “When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service,” Director Aaron Keller confirms.

Keller continues on, saying that “We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game. We’re launching with new heroes, maps, and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2.”

The original plan was to have players from both games play side-by-side, implementing a “shared multiplayer environment,” and that has obviously been scrapped as of this announcement.

Look – Overwatch 2 Content Roadmap

Because this is the case, the developers have also confirmed what will happen to the progress players have made from the original game, including all of their earned currencies and skins. Players can breathe a sigh of relief, as these existing currencies can be brought to Overwatch 2 from any platform via cross-progression.

“We’ll share a more detailed explanation on all of these topics before Overwatch 2 goes live in October. To give you a quick answer now though, those existing currencies (credits, OWL tokens, and competitive points) will come with you into Overwatch 2,” shares Commercial Lead Jon Spector. “We are not transitioning loot boxes into Overwatch 2, and ahead of launch, any unopened loot boxes will be automatically opened with your account receiving all the contents directly.”

Overwatch 2 will have its Early Access on October 4 and will release as a free-to-play title for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC.