Overwatch and Overwatch 2 will have a shared multiplayer experience

BlizzCon 2019 has started off with a bang, with several bombshell updates for most of the gaming giant’s titles already announced. The biggest announcement of the day, however, was one that was teased in leaks already. That’s right. Overwatch 2 was finally confirmed to be a real thing. Not only that, but Jeff Kaplan, the game’s lead designer and Blizzard’s vice president, made some huge additional announcements regarding the new sequel on the main stage at BlizzCon 2019. Hint: Crossplay is coming.

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A lot of you have questions. Like, “Why a sequel?” Or, “What does that mean to me as a player of the original game? I put so much time into this game, I cared about it so much.” Well, we thought about it, and for us as gamers, sequels make us nervous more than anything else. So what we’re hoping to do with Overwatch 2 is redefine what a sequel means. And I think some explanation is in order right now: For all original players of Overwatch, players of the current Overwatch game, you will get to play on all of the same maps as Overwatch 2 players, including all of the brand new maps that are coming to Overwatch 2. And you will get to play with all of the same heroes as Overwatch 2 players. It will be a shared multiplayer environment where no one gets left behind.

The other thing that a lot of us are thinking about is all those cool accomplishments and cosmetics that we’ve been unlocking over the years. How hard did you work for your Witch Mercy skin, for example? We want to make sure that all Overwatch cosmetics come forward with you into Overwatch 2. All of your progress matters. Nothing is getting left behind. No one is getting left behind. We worked so hard to build this community of over 50 million players at this point. The last thing we would ever do is do anything to split what an amazing community you guys are.

There were some massive bits of news revealed here. First and foremost is the shocking revelation that all classic Overwatch players will be able to experience the same new maps and heroes that Overwatch 2 will receive. There will be a completely shared, crossplay environment between the two games. This means that for anyone who is only interested in the multiplayer aspects of Overwatch, there is no real need to shell out for the new game.

So, with crossplay enabled, how do they still expect to sell copies of the new game? As was announced earlier this afternoon, Overwatch 2 will come with a huge graphics overhaul and updated character models for all 31 current heroes. It will also bring several awesome new PVE modes for players to carry out story missions and co-op campaigns.

And for those players that do choose to purchase the sequel, another huge announcement was made in Jeff Kaplan’s speech. All achievements and unlockables will carry over to the new game! This means all of your skins, player icons, sprays, victory poses, and everything else will be ported over. Blizzard is rewarding players for their hard work, and none of your effort or progress is being lost. As Jeff said, nothing gets left behind!

For more coverage on BlizzCon 2019 and Overwatch 2, be sure to stay tuned with Daily Esports!