diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/1315-ec2_instance-instance_type.yml b/changelogs/fragments/1315-ec2_instance-instance_type.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0df2346360c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/1315-ec2_instance-instance_type.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+breaking_changes:
+- ec2_instance - the default value for ``instance_type`` has been removed.
+  At least one of ``instance_type`` or ``launch_template`` must be specified when launching new
+  instances (https://github.com/ansible-collections/amazon.aws/pull/1315).
diff --git a/plugins/modules/ec2_instance.py b/plugins/modules/ec2_instance.py
index 2158bc8c39e..ea77f732095 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/ec2_instance.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/ec2_instance.py
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@
     type: int
   instance_type:
     description:
-      - Instance type to use for the instance, see U(https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html).
+      - Instance type to use for the instance, see
+        U(https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html).
       - Only required when instance is not already present.
-      - If not specified, C(t2.micro) will be used.
-      - In a release after 2023-01-01 the default will be removed and either I(instance_type) or
-        I(launch_template) must be specificed when launching an instance.
+      - At least one of I(instance_type) or I(launch_template) must be specificed when launching an
+        instance.
     type: str
   count:
     description:
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@
   launch_template:
     description:
       - The EC2 launch template to base instance configuration on.
+      - At least one of I(instance_type) or I(launch_template) must be specificed when launching an
+        instance.
     type: dict
     suboptions:
       id:
@@ -1342,11 +1344,12 @@ def build_run_instance_spec(params):
         spec['MaxCount'] = params.get('count')
         spec['MinCount'] = params.get('count')
 
-    if not params.get('launch_template'):
-        spec['InstanceType'] = params['instance_type'] if params.get('instance_type') else 't2.micro'
+    if params.get("instance_type"):
+        spec["InstanceType"] = params["instance_type"]
 
-    if params.get('launch_template') and params.get('instance_type'):
-        spec['InstanceType'] = params['instance_type']
+    if not (params.get("instance_type") or params.get("launch_template")):
+        module.fail_json("At least one of 'instance_type' and 'launch_template' "
+                         "must be passed when launching instances.")
 
     return spec
 
@@ -2049,11 +2052,6 @@ def main():
         supports_check_mode=True
     )
 
-    if not module.params.get('instance_type') and not module.params.get('launch_template'):
-        if module.params.get('state') not in ('absent', 'stopped'):
-            if module.params.get('count') or module.params.get('exact_count'):
-                module.deprecate("Default value instance_type has been deprecated, in the future you must set an instance_type or a launch_template",
-                                 date='2023-01-01', collection_name='amazon.aws')
     result = dict()
 
     if module.params.get('network'):