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Overwatch 2 is being rebranded after Blizzard experiences regrets of how the sequel went

A simple name change signals that Overwatch will hopefully feel more like the story-driven game that we all fell in love with.

Overwatch New Character Cat — Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Thu Feb 05 2026

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When Blizzard announced Overwatch 2, fans were understandably excited. When fans got to actually play Overwatch 2, they were… less excited. Turns out the “sequel” was very much more of the same with a small rebrand. Now, Blizzard is abandoning the Overwatch 2 name in favor of just Overwatch in another rebrand meant to bring players back to the team shooter.

During the recent Overwatch Spotlight, Blizzard announced some big changes for the Overwatch brand. Most dramatically, it will just be Overwatch once again as the company is rolling back the sequel in a slightly confusing rebrand. The reasoning for this was somewhat vague during the spotlight, but the general idea is that Blizzard wants to return Overwatch to what people initially liked about it. They’re returning to a more “story-driven era” with a year-long narrative called 'The Reign of Talon.'

With the new story will also be ten new heroes to play, but the real carrot to bring players back seems to be a healthy dose of story content that Blizzard has promised. According to the devs, we’ll be getting more in-game events, hero trailers, animated comics, and short stories as the new storyline rolls out in Overwatch. This is very much a return to what players enjoyed about Overwatch when it first launched. The cinematics that Blizzard released to flesh out the characters and the world were what made Overwatch the gaming juggernaut that it was and that the developer hopes it can be again.

Dropping the number to call Overwatch 2 simply Overwatch is Blizzard’s way of telling players that the game will (hopefully) feel more like the game they fell in love with years ago. We just have to wait until it works.

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