• The Big Pivot: Overwatch 2 is officially being rebranded as simply Overwatch starting February 2026, effectively "deleting" the sequel after a tumultuous three-year run.
  • New Blood: The "Reign of Talon" season has launched, featuring a high-stakes cinematic and the debut of the new playable hero, Vendetta.
  • Player Surge: Despite the branding identity crisis, the game hit an all-time player peak this month, outperforming heavyweights like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty on Steam.
  • The "Curse" Strikes: Fans are pointing to the "Persona 5 Curse"—a superstition where games shut down or enter End of Service shortly after a Persona 5 crossover—as the catalyst for OW2’s rebranding.
  • Roadmap 2026: Game Director Aaron Keller has committed to a "clean slate" with a wealth of new heroes and content planned to right the ship.

The "2" is Dead: Overwatch Returns to Its Roots

We’ve been calling for a course correction since 2022, and Blizzard is finally pulling the trigger. By dropping the "2" from the title, the studio is signaling a hard reset on an era defined by controversial UI overhauls, the death of the 6v6 meta, and the absolute gut-punch that was the canceled PvE story mode. We believe this isn't just a marketing gimmick; it's a strategic retreat from the "sequel" branding that never quite felt earned.

The "Reign of Talon" update isn't just a name change. We’re seeing a massive influx of optimism in the community. The new cinematic featuring Vendetta squaring off against Doomfist has that classic Blizzard polish we’ve been missing. More importantly, the data doesn't lie: Overwatch is currently sitting at its all-time player peak on Steam, proving that while the Overwatch 2 era was messy, the core hero-shooter DNA is still the gold standard in the genre.

Did the Persona 5 Curse Actually Claim Another Victim?

If you aren't familiar with the "Persona 5 Curse," it’s time to get up to speed. In the world of live-service gaming, partnering with the Phantom Thieves is often seen as a death warrant. History shows a pattern that's getting hard to ignore:

The "Curse" Hit List:

  • Star Ocean Anamnesis: Collabed Oct 2019; shuttered June 2021.
  • Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag: Collabed Feb 2020; shuttered Aug 2021.
  • Dragalia Lost: Collabed Jan 2021; shuttered Nov 2022.
  • Nier Reincarnation: Collabed Sept 2022; shuttered April 2024.

The Overwatch x Persona 5 crossover dropped in September 2025, bringing high-tier skins for Mercy, D.Va, Lifeweaver, Genji, and Wuyang. Exactly six months later, Overwatch 2 as an entity is being retired. While Granblue Fantasy has managed to dodge this bullet for years, the timing here is suspiciously on the nose. Fans are treating the rebranding as the "technical death" of OW2, fulfilling the superstition while the game itself lives on under its original name.

A Deeply Unserious Superstition with Real Implications

Look, we know the "curse" is mostly a meme fueled by schadenfreude. The real issue has always been the struggle of live-service titles to maintain a monetization flow that justifies their existence. Blizzard’s move to scrap the battle-pass-heavy focus of the last few years (and the $69 skin bundles) in favor of a "clean slate" suggests they’ve realized that player goodwill is a more valuable currency than short-term microtransactions.

Our take? This rebranding is a massive W. The game is currently beating Call of Duty in the Steam charts, and the 2026 roadmap looks packed. If Blizzard can maintain this momentum and avoid the pitfalls of the last three years, Overwatch might finally move past the controversy and get back to what it does best: being the most polished hero shooter on the market. Just... maybe hold off on any more Persona collabs for a while, okay?