According to an Overwatch League team source, the Overwatch League 2021 was moved back to make sure visas could get approved and so they could figure out the League format. With this, the source also stated that OW2 was not a reason for the later start and they do not expect Overwatch 2 for the 2021 season. For many, this news is not entirely unexpected but disappointing.
[Related: When does the Overwatch League 2021 Season Start?]
Fans had been hoping that the Overwatch League season being moved back was a sign of good things to come. Potentially it was so that the players could play on Overwatch 2 as the main game for the 2021 season. With Blizzconline 2021 only a few weeks away, it could make sense that they reveal the release of the game there and then the season would start about six to eight weeks later. Metro_OW, an Overwatch leaker had also stated something similar back in October 2020.
Overwatch 2 release news! 🤠
Rumors of the next OWL season being delayed until April to make sure they can launch with OW2 suggest that the expected beta or even full release of the game around Blizzcon in February 2021 is very likely!
— Metro (@Metro_OW) October 18, 2020
Metro then was given information just earlier this year that OW2 was getting delayed and that the game was very far off. Combining Metro’s sources with this one makes it seem very likely that OW2 is not coming soon.
It is very important to note that this is not saying a beta version of the game couldn’t come out at Blizzconline or that Overwatch 2 won’t come out during the season and the OWL just doesn’t play on it for competitive integrity.
All that said, it still seems very unlikely at this point that the game is coming out anytime before maybe August or September of 2021. When looking at the Amazon listing for “The Art of Overwatch, Volume 2” book that was available for pre-order it also stated that there would be a Sneak peek at Overwatch 2. This book is not due to release until October 15, 2021.
There's a pre-order of an OW 2 art book going on on Amazon, set for a release in October.
This does not mean OW 2 will come out after this date, in fact I'm still very hopeful we'll be able to at least play a beta in Feb but who knows how covid influences development time. pic.twitter.com/eTnnIlyp0g
— Metro (@Metro_OW) December 21, 2020
Sadly if sources from Blizzard along with from the Overwatch League are all stating that they aren’t expecting Overwatch 2, then that might mean that fans are going to have to wait a bit longer.
Potentially Some Good News
There is potentially some good news though. The OWL team source also stated when asked about new heroes this year that they are “TBD on new heroes, but seems unlikely”. While this is not something that is overly promising, it does show that the possibility for new heroes in 2021 could happen. With the rumors that Blizzard will show off new heroes for OW2 at Blizzconline, there is the possibility that they could release them to stem the tide of what has been a major content drought for Overwatch outside of the recent release of the deathmatch map, Kanezaka.
Hopefully, the sources are wrong. Hopefully, OW2 does come out earlier than expected and some of the heroes if not all of them are available to the OWL. For now, that does not seem to be the case but things do change and all Overwatch fans can do is hope.
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