Overwatch 2 might not launch until 2023

Overwatch 2 may not be ready to launch until 2023, according to a new leak.

In a recent tweet, Overwatch streamer Metro said that they had "heard from multiple people close to my original source with [Overwatch 2] that the development is taking longer than expected. From what I can gather a release in 2022 does not seem likely anymore."

Back in October, Metro said that they thought Overwatch 2 might be ready to launch this Spring, but that potential launch window has long since come and gone, and we've not had a significant update on the state of the game since May this year, when Blizzard said it would be cutting team sizes from six players to five.

As well as issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Overwatch 2 team has faced extra disruption in recent months. As well as continued fallout from the Activision Blizzard lawsuit in recent weeks, the team also had to contend with the departure of the game's director, Jeff Kaplan, who left Blizzard in April after 19 years at the company.

As with any leak of this nature, it's worth taking the information with a pinch of salt until we hear from Blizzard itself, but with BlizzCon 2021 cancelled, it's possible that we won't get a major update on the game's progress this calendar year. That could be bad news for the community at large, as Metro says that if their sources prove correct, there's "no way [Overwatch] will be alive for another year and a half without major updates."

Need something to help fill time until 2023? Here's our list of the best FPS games.