Overwatch's heroes have assembled some big wardrobes since 2016: Hundreds of skins, along with other cosmetics that keep players opening loot boxes and coming back for seasonal events. Now we know that Overwatch 2 is coming, and it's a full-on sequel, with new co-op modes in addition to PvP multiplayer. Overwatch 2 could've been a clean slate that wiped away all those skins and the hundreds or thousands of hours it took to collect them, but that's not how it's going down.
"For all original players of the current Overwatch game, you will get to play on all of the same maps as Overwatch 2 players, including all the brand new maps that are coming to Overwatch 2, and you'll get to play with all of the same heroes as Overwatch 2 players," said Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch's lead designer.
And the same goes for skins: "We want to make sure that all Overwatch cosmetics come forward with you into Overwatch 2, so all your progress matters. Nothing gets left behind."
Kaplan called this a new approach to making a sequel. Overwatch 2's co-op modes are its big draw, while the sequel will have a "shared multiplayer environment" with the first game. If your Overwatch closet is stuffed full of skins, tags, and other cosmetics, that's probably a big relief—though it does make us wonder about how overstuffed Overwatch 2 may end up feeling a few years down the road.
Head over to our BlizzCon 2019 hub for all the big announcements from this year's convention.
