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After struggling to make sequel-sized changes, fans think Blizzard might retire the '2' in Overwatch's name based on Season 16 leaks
Leaks suggest Overwatch 2 might drop the '2' from its title, renaming skins and potentially signaling a full integration of updates into the original game, along with a new Gundam collaboration and Mythic skin for Juno.
Blizzard Entertainment somewhat controversially turned its premium hero shooter Overwatch into a freemium live service game Overwatch 2 years ago. Rather than a traditional sequel, Overwatch 2 felt more like a beefy update with sweeping changes and big promises for the future, but the company might now be retiring the '2' in its name.
That's the prevalent theory among fans, at least, after Overwatch 2 Season 16 purportedly leaked early and potentially revealed one notable change to skin cosmetics.
In the game's customization menus, every hero's default skin from the first game is just called Overwatch 1, while their revamped default skins from the kind-of-sequel are called Overwatch 2. The latest leaks claim Overwatch 1 skins will now be called 'Classic,' and Overwatch 2 skins are going to be called 'Valorous,' fuelling theories that Blizzard may delete the '2' entirely.
OW2 S16 main screen, Juno Mythic, new Mythic aspects and upcoming collab.#Overwatch2 #Overwatch pic.twitter.com/YIpgWLWux7March 28, 2025
The leak also includes early looks at Juno's Mythic skin, a remix of Junker Queen's Zeus outfit, and a collaboration with Gundam to continue Overwatch's streak of anime crossovers. (Good spot, Eurogamer.)
Obviously, all that is mere speculation until Activision Blizzard confirms or denies the rumor for themselves. (Or what's more likely is that Season 16 comes and goes with on title changes.)
But Blizzard has long struggled to justify why Overwatch 2 needed to exist as a separate entity, aside from obviously changing how it functions as money-making machine. The sequel's ambitious co-op campaign was scrapped, and the original game's 6v6 dynamic has also come back in the meantime, meaning it's not *so *far off the 2016 Overwatch experience. (Heck, even loot boxes are back now.) But to the team's credit, Overwatch 2 did recently unveil some enormous changes that include upgradeable perks and massive third-person game mode.