Retailers are still selling physical copies of Overwatch even though it no longer exists
"What happens to people who buy this not knowing?"
Overwatch players have taken to social media to ask why retailers still have Overwatch on sale when the game is no longer playable.
As u/raistwalls1 exemplifies on the Overwatch subreddit (thanks, TheGamer), retailers still have copies of Overwatch for both PS4 and Xbox One on sale - on this occasion, it's priced at $34 - even though the game essentially no longer exists.
If you try to run a physical copy of Overwatch now, it'll install the game but on launch it will transfer to Overwatch 2 which, crucially, is free to play.
As some commenters quite rightly point out, the legendary edition comes with 15 skins that, theoretically at least, transfer over to the sequel… and given the price of some of Blizzard's premium skins, buying an old copy of Overwatch and getting skins that way may work out cheaper than buying them directly from the in-game store. As u/PsychoInHell points out, though, not everyone got to keep their legendary skins in the merge of Overwatch 1 and 2.
Others made comparisons to Bungie's sci-fi shooter Destiny 2, which also started life as a physical premium game before switching to a free-to-play model.
"I miss Overwatch 1," said one wistful commenter.
As planned, Blizzard shut down Overwatch 1's servers on 4th October. You can watch the moment Overwatch went offine for good below as reported by Matt earlier this month, as well as the many ways players said goodbye in their own way.
"As things stand today, Overwatch 2 feels like yet another service game where unlocks lead off into perpetuity, purely because money has to be made," Edwin said in Eurogamer's Overwatch 2 review. "It's got its eyes on the horizon, and the same old spring in its step, but I'm not sure it has anywhere to go."