Overwatch drops the “2” in major franchise turning point

Blizzard Entertainment has rebranded Overwatch 2 by dropping the "2" from the game's name. The announcement was made during today's Overwatch Spotlight event, confirming the hints that had been leading up to the official reveal.

On Feb. 4, Blizzard Entertainment announced that moving forward, the hero shooter will be known simply as "Overwatch" without the "2" at the end. According to the announcement, the game is so much more than a digit. Rather, it's a living universe that continues to expand and unite players from around the world.

"Overwatch is more than just a digit: it's a living universe that keeps growing, keeps surprising, and keeps bringing players together from around the world," the announcement stated. "This year marks a huge turning point in how the development team envisions the future of Overwatch, so we are officially dropping the 2 and moving forward as Overwatch."

Hints of this rebranding were first spotted by eagle-eyed players well before the official reveal. On the game's competitive subreddit, user Tough_Holiday584 noticed that a Steam product update removed the "2" from the title. The "Overwatch 2 - Invasion Bundle" was renamed "Overwatch - Invasion Bundle."

This followed a similar change to the promotional assets used for the Overwatch Spotlight event. This year's iteration of it simply had "Overwatch Spotlight." Last year's event was called "Overwatch 2 Spotlight."

Removing the “2” from Overwatch is a major turning point for the franchise. Back when Overwatch 2 launched in 2022, many players felt frustrated by it as they had expected a full PvE experience. PvE content launched in Season 6 behind a paywall and didn't meet expectations. Then, when further PvE plans were canceled, disappointment and confusion within the community grew.

Now, with the removal of the digit, the franchise gets a fresh start, in a sense. As the announcement stated, the current development team frames this as a significant turning point in how they envision the game's future.

Leading up to this decision, the game has made major strides. It not only brought back PvE, but also introduced the perks system, created Stadium as a brand-new game mode, and recently placed greater emphasis on lore and story. Perhaps ironically, some players may feel that these updates finally justify the "2."

However, a new era is here, and it's simply Overwatch.

So what does Overwatch look like in the future? Five new heroes will soon arrive in the game on Feb. 10. These will be Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat. Domina, Emre, and Anran were all recently teased as well. The game will also enter its new era on Feb. 10 as Season 1 instead of Overwatch 2 Season 21.

In terms of other updates to look forward to, 2026 will have 10 new heroes in total and players will be able to follow Talon's global rise through a year-long narrative arc. This will feature in-game events, hero trailers, animated comics, short stories, and map updates.

There will also be a faction war between Overwatch and Talon happening across five weeks. Loot will include 66 loot boxes, legendary Echo skins, faction-themed player titles, and so much more. All of this will be in addition to an Overwatch x Hello Kitty collaboration plus a UI and UX overhaul.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch news and updates.