Overwatch 2has been keeping players engaged with its consistent content drops since its release in late 2022. Players keep coming back to the game to collect fresh and free battle pass content, skin challenges, and new heroes.
Its seasonal campaigns, likeWinter Wonderland, give players a chance to get content from past years, along with new skins and sprays. However, the content from these returning events pales in comparison to what is offered in newer ones like Battle for Olympus.
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Rehashed Seasonal Content in Overwatch 2
TheOverwatchteam loves bringing back old skins and game modes from previous iterations of seasonal events, and a great example of this is Winter Wonderland with its popular Yeti Winston skin and Mei’s Snowball Offensive game mode. However, while these dated modes and cosmetics may be fun to collect and explore for new players, they’ve lost their shine for longtime fans of the game. Veteran players will likely grind the old modes to complete challenges in exchange for skins, but do little more beyond that since they already sunk time into them years ago.
Free loot is harder to come by inOverwatch 2compared to the first game, too. Back inOverwatch 1, players could grind for legacy credits, challenge XP, and free loot boxes to get their chosen seasonal event skin, like Snow Owl Ana, for free. Now, players have to buy credits with real money or earn free currency in small amounts fromOverwatch 2’s battle passto get the same item. Event cosmetics inOverwatch 2aren’t purchasable with legacy credits, either. It’s difficult to justify purchasing something that one could get free of charge before.
New Content and Fresh Concepts in Overwatch 2 is More Interesting
When it comes to fresh content and game mode quantity and quality,Overwatch 2’s new events reign supreme. The Ultimate Valentine’s event is the perfect example. It featured a new game mode called “Love of Geometry,” an all-Hanzo team deathmatch brawl that revived the hero’s Scatter Arrow ability. The event also gave fans a full-blownOverwatch 2dating sim, which gave them the chance to woo either Genji or Mercy. New skins released during Ultimate Valentine’s included the Legendary Cupid Hanzo and Epic Bitrate Lucio, and players unlocked the latter after completing the event’s six challenges.
Another event that became popular among players, despite its rocky start, was theBattle for Olympus. This January program gave players a bunch of new Greek mythology-themed Legendary and Mythic skins, like Zeus Junker Queen, Poseidon Ramattra, and Hades Pharah. The event’s limited-time game mode was a free-for-all that equipped selected heroes with godlike powers. A notable example is Medusa Widowmaker’s Divine Infrasight, which let her turn her enemies looking at her into stone while scoped in. The event also had eight challenges that gave players free player titles, voice lines, skins, and battle pass XP.
These new events featured all-new outfits with fresh concepts scattered throughout the shop and battle pass. Sure, players still needed to shell out real cash to get their cosmetics, but at least they could make their purchase with peace of mind knowing that the skin they’re getting wasn’t free a few years ago. Having a fully new brawl in these events helped them feel far more meaningful as well.
Old Overwatch 2 Events, New Tricks
It seems like Blizzard is catching on to players’ gripes about the lack of new and free content during seasonal events. The recently concluded Pachimarchi event sawthe return of the Epic Pachimari Roadhog skinand 80,000 battle pass XP that players could get for free by grinding challenges.
It also introduced a game mode called “Catch-A-Mari,” a 3v3 elimination mode wherein players could collect Pachimari toys that drop from eliminated opponents. The team who got the most toys won. Players got new rewards based ontheOverwatchfranchise’s mascot- like player icons, a name card, and a weapon charm - for grinding this mode. Even Halloween Terror felt fresher than something like Lunar New Year, as though its low number of new skins was disappointing, the fresh PvE mission was exciting.
Even the best online games have seasonal content and releases that just don’t resonate with fans. In the case ofOverwatch 2, such events often lack new concepts and free rewards that engage players. Fortunately, Blizzard did a full 180 on Pachimarchi by giving players the free loot and new content that they want. It’s a good sign, considering the fan-favorite Summer Games event may be right around the corner. Hopefully, returning events likeLunar New Yearwill follow in the footsteps of new ones like Battle for Olympus, introducing never-before-seen modes alongside a far greater variety of cosmetics. With the upcoming Starwatch event also looking promising, applying the approach taken with these newer events to old ones whenever they come back would be ideal.
Overwatch 2is free to play on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
