An "early build" of Overwatch 2 will be used for Overwatch League in 2022
OWL season 5 is being planned for April 2022
Hero shooter sequel Overwatch 2 doesn't have a release date yet. Some folks will be getting their hands on it next spring though, so perhaps it isn't all that far off. Blizzard plan to start the next season of competitive play for the Overwatch League in April of next year, they've confirmed. They've also mentioned that the season will be played using an "early build" of Overwatch 2.
"I've seen a lot of speculation regarding a 2022 start date for OWL," says Overwatch League VP Jon Spector. "We can confirm that our plan is to begin next season in April 2022. We will share more details about 2022 roster construction timelines soon and more info generally on our 2022 season as we get closer to April."
Spector's clarification follows rumors from last month about the possibility of an Overwatch League hiatus while awaiting a build of Overwatch 2 to be available. Spector called out the hiatus bit as inaccurate last month. It sounds like the Overwatch 2 part was on target though.
An Overwatch League representative has confirmed to Kotaku that OWL season 5 will be played on an "early build" of Overwatch 2. Playing the new version of Overwatch is sure to have plenty of implications for competitive players, not least being that the game is moving from a 6v6 format to 5v5.
Although the new version will be a major change for players, there are even larger, less positive changes going on elsewhere in Overwatch. Blizzard are renaming McCree follwing departure of the character's namesake. Former developer Jesse McCree recently left the studio (among others) in the midst of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard by the State Of California which alleges a history of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination prevalent throughout the company.