Activision Blizzard has just launched Overwatch 2, heralding a host of new heroes, and this time around instead of a full retail release, the game is free to play, replacing the loot boxes of the previous entry with a battle pass system. However, the original Overwatch was a full retail release, charged at a premium, that came on a disc for many players. There’s even a physical boxed copy for Nintendo Switch, though this is just a code in a box.
As many of you migrate to Overwatch 2, Activision Blizzard has shut down the servers for the original Overwatch, with no way to play the title ever again. Despite this, many online retailers are still selling boxed copies of the original game, or in particularly egregious cases, simply selling the physical Nintendo Switch box that comes only with a code, a code that no longer works.
Several major sites have clearly pulled any way to purchase the original Overwatch, but listings are still available for both codes and codes in a box of Overwatch (please do not purchase these) over at Amazon.co.uk, PlayAsia, LiveCards, while boxed PS4 and Xbox copes are still being sold at Game.co.uk. There’s no doubt some young gamers will be asking their parents for the new Overwatch game without knowing it’s free to play, and there will be mistaken purchases of a dead game by parents who don’t know better. We hope to see this amended soon, but in the meantime, just don’t buy any versions of the original Overwatch.
How do I play Overwatch for Nintendo Switch?
The original Overwatch for Nintendo Switch is now delisted and cannot be played, so any codes for the game will no longer work, so we strongly recommend you do not purchase any version of the original Overwatch anywhere. However, the sequel Overwatch 2 is now live and is free to download and play on the Nintendo eShop.
That’s it for today folks, our watch is over. Tell your friends not to pay any money for Overwatch, and we’ll see you on the battlefield for its F2P sequel soon. For even more great guides, be sure to check our article covering the best Switch FPS games. Or if you’re diving into the sequel, check out our Overwatch 2 characters guide, and get to know the new batch.