Overwatch 2 launched this week to much fanfare. Many players and critics are satisfied with the changes for the sequel but the game also experienced some issues during launch. The hero shooter moved to a free-to-play and digital-only model, rendering the physical discs of the original game worthless.
Retailer GameStop has reportedly ordered employees to destroy physical copies of Overwatch 1. Stores can no longer sell Overwatch 1 as the game files will be overwritten when the sequel is installed, in a move similar to other games moving to digital-only ecosystems such as Destiny.
A GameStop employee and TikTok user ksihinata recently uploaded a video showing an email directive from the retailer to destroy copies of the game. The method of dealing with obsolete copies of games varies from one company to another.
While the practice of destroying discs is frowned upon, the copies are useless now that Overwatch has migrated its servers to OW2. The most a player can do with these copies is display them on a shelf or keep them as a collector's item.