Normally when a major Overwatch patch is released, it requires a decent amount of free space to download. However, Blizzard has announced today that the next major patch for Overwatch will require a complete reinstall of the entire game.
According to Blizzard, the incoming patch will alter the fundamentals of the game client so drastically that they cannot simply patch over the existing one.
Blizzard warns those with capped internet connections and slow speeds to prepare in advance for the coming update.
The next major patch will have some pretty fundamental changes to the game client. The number of back-end changes we’re putting in is substantial enough that we can’t just patch over the current content efficiently. As a result, when the next patch comes out, the client will fully reinstall itself to handle these changes. We know that this isn’t ideal for people on metered connections, so hopefully this announcement helps you prepare for this coming update.
Luckily, unlike some other modern video games, Overwatch’s file size isn’t exceptionally large: only around 13GB on PC.
There isn’t yet a release date for the next major patch, but Blizzard promises to update this thread on its website with more details in the future.