Overwatch League's 2022 season will remain on an early build of Overwatch 2, despite Overwatch 2 being delayed indefinitely earlier this week, according to a Blizzard spokesperson.

"We are now planning for a later launch of Overwatch 2 than originally envisaged, but as previously announced the Overwatch League 2022 season will run on an early build of Overwatch 2’s new 5v5 competitive multiplayer mode," Blizzard told Inven Global in a statement. "So starting in the Spring, the next season of the Overwatch League will give the community a fantastic view into the development team’s planned direction for the franchise before experiencing the content for themselves."

The decision follows a lot of confusion from Overwatch League players and fans about the path forward after Blizzard announced that OW2 would be delayed earlier this week.

In response to that news, many pro players pointed out that it would be odd and difficult for them to practice on 5v5 Overwatch 2 during their scrims, and then be forced to practice on the 6v6 standard Overwatch when practicing outside scrims.

While moving forward with OW2 after the game's delay had its downsides, switching back to standard Overwatch for next season also carried significant downsides. With the League being in a lose-lose situation, they had to make a decision, and they decided to stay the course and move forward with their plans despite the weird consequences for players and viewers who will have to live in a world with the live version of Overwatch 1, but the professional version of Overwatch 2.