Hell to pay
Overwatch 2is getting new skins that clothe Moria and Pharah in the outfits ofDiablo 4’s Lilith and Inarius. Those skins are part of a new wave of cosmetics incoming for the game’s Season 7: Rise of Darkness, but they’re not part of the standard premium battle pass. Instead, they’ll cost you another $40 - as much as the whole ofOverwatch1 did when it was first released. As you can imagine, people aren’t too chuffed.
The Lilith Moria and Inarius Pharah skins are part of Overwatch 2’sUltimate Battle Pass bundle, which also includes a Pumpkin Spice skin forBastion, 2,000 Overwatch coins - which can be spent in the hero shooter’s in-game store - and 20 tier skips that will accelerate you through the battle pass’ unlock levels.
While putting skins behind a premium battle pass purchase is nothing new, part of what’s enraged a number of Overwatch 2 fans - who have taken to the game’s subreddit, its forums and the comments on the latest season’s trailer to vent their disapproval - is that the Diablo crossovers were heavily promoted during the run-up to the new season, only to be locked behind its most expensive tier. There’s also no option to buy either skin separately, or to buy the bundle with any saved in-game currency rather than real money.
“The skin that was the focus point of advertisements for this season is exclusive to the $40 bundle… good job Blizzard,” one playerwrote.
“Casual reminder that Overwatch, the ENTIRE GAME- was $40 on release. Now we’re paying that amount for a couple of skins and a battlepass,” replied another.
Making things worse is the fact that Overwatch 2’s Premium Battle Pass includes its Legendary Pack - sold for $50 - but not the Ultimate Battle Pass, meaning that players who bought the former will need to spend the full $40 to get the extra skins - with no apparent discount if you already have the other battle pass.
It’s not the first time that Overwatch 2’s controversial battle pass system hascome under fire, and the move is unlikely to win over players already disappointed by the shooter’sforced replacementof its predecessor’s fairly generous loot box system,cancellation of its promised PvE modeandpricey cosmetics, all of which saw it plummet to become theworst-reviewed game on Steam, only contested by thesteaming mess of NBA 2K24. (Not to mention all theotherfactorssurrounding the game itself at Activision Blizzard these past few years.)
As someone who absolutely loved the original Overwatch in its prime and played hundreds of hours, only to find myself disillusioned with Overwatch 2 amidst (waves hands)everything, it’s honestly hard to imagine returning anytime soon - if ever. This certainly doesn’t do anything to change my mind. It’s a sad state of affairs for what was, at one point, for my money, one of thegreatest multiplayer shootersever made.
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