Blizzard renames Overwatch 2 to Overwatch, 4 years after deciding Overwatch was Overwatch 2, because "Overwatch is more than just a digit: it's a living universe," called Overwatch

Blizzard has taken a bold stance against number-two and is dropping the disgraced digit from the Overwatch 2 title. The hero shooter will henceforth be known as simply "Overwatch." Again.

It was only four years ago that Blizzard reinvented Overwatch as Overwatch 2 – an awkward, fledgling thing halfway between a major game update and an actual standalone sequel, as we observed in our Overwatch 2 review.

The game never even ended up including the PvE mode that was meant to make it a "2" in the first place, so the once-hearty FPS has been dipping in and out of stagnation since then. But Blizzard, during its Overwatch Spotlight stream on February 4, revealed plans to finally reinvigorate Overwatch, and it all starts with the "2."

In a press release, Blizzard writes, "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." Sure!

"This year marks a huge turning point in how the development team envisions the future of Overwatch," Blizzard continues, "so we are officially dropping the '2' and moving forward as 'Overwatch.'"

Franchise general manager and live service lead Walter Kong explains further (to our friends at PC Gamer), saying, "Something that we've talked about internally at the team as a stretch goal that we wanted to hit was something that we described as a 'return to form.'"

With Overwatch's number-two out of the way, players can expect a new storyline, 10 fresh heroes to be released over the course of 2026, and even a Hello Kitty collaboration beginning Feb 10. (Notice how her name is not and has never been "Hello Kitty 2".)

Even though Overwatch 2 canceled its story mode, Blizzard teases "to lean further into storytelling and character development" for the FPS' 10th anniversary.