An Overwatch community manager has clarified that the rumored release of the game in 2023 is not official.

Overwatch 2 is a much-awaited game. The company stated that its highest priority is to release the game as soon as possible. 

They were planning to release the game before the Summer of 2022. Another source in franchise management had said that the aim was to release the game by Q2 of 2022.

However, on November 2, during Activision Blizzard’s Q3 Investor Call, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2’s release has been delayed again.

After this announcement, it was rumored that the sequel of the 2016 game could be released in 2023. Many fans assumed this news to be official.

Blizzard Is Not Committed To Releasing Overwatch 2 in 2023

Andy Belford, an Overwatch community manager, wrote on the Blizzard forums that a lot of people are assuming that the launch date is 2023.

He pointed out that there was no release date or beta date communicated in yesterday’s earnings call. He said that he isn’t prepared to discuss dates. However, he denied the rumor that Overwatch 2 will be officially launched in 2023.

Furthermore, he wrote that he understood the emotions shared. He believes that the delay is the right thing to do for the team, the game, and ultimately the players.

Mike Ybarra, a Blizzard leader, explained the reason for the delay. He said that the new leadership let the publisher see where each game was in terms of development. 

This led them to decide that both (Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4) needed more time to be worked on. Ybarra added that the extra time would also help expand the development teams.

Thus, as of now, no official release date has been announced by Blizzard. The sequel may or may not be released in 2023.