So is it DLC or what? What I read just makes it sound like a PVE DLC and a visual update.
They say OW1+2 players play together, so if I don't care about PVE can I just stick with OW1 and still get all new characters and skins, or is stuff gonna start being OW2 exclusive?
PvE expansion and a rebranding is the best way to think about it. You don't have to pay anything if you just want to continue playing the PvP and get the visual upgrade, new maps and characters. If you want to play PvE you just have to unlock it.