Summary
The 2023 Anniversary event forOverwatch 2is officially out, much to the excitement of the community. The event is meant to commemorate one year sinceOverwatch 2was released, and there will be about three weeks of festivities. Unfortunately, there are some in the community who are unhappy with a recent decision that Blizzard made concerning its Anniversary Shop.
TheAnniversary Shop fixes two issues withOverwatch 2, but it’s also a double-edged sword. While it gives veteran players a use for Legacy Credits and allows people to obtain skins that they missed out on in the past, some people are upset. In the past, Blizzard has marketed some paid skins as “limited-time” or “exclusive” only to bring them back a few seasons later, and it seems the Anniversary event is no exception.
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Blizzard Has A Recurring Issue With Giving Away Paid Skins For Free
SinceOverwatch 2players can’t enjoy the perks of the freeloot boxes that came with the firstOverwatch, the Shop and Battle Pass have become the main methods for obtaining cosmetics. When this switch was made, it was controversial, but Blizzard hasn’t indicated that loot boxes will ever return. However, there are often other ways to get new cosmetics such as bundles in the Battle.net launcher and completing challenges in limited-time modes like Symmetra’s Seeds of Order event.
TheOverwatch 2Watchpoint Packis one bundle in particular that has resurfaced as a point of contention. Space Raider Cassidy was once one of the main features of the $40 Watchpoint Pack, alongside Space Raider Soldier 76, beta access, a Season 1 Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and more. Since Space Raider Cassidy is now available in the Anniversary Shop for 2,000 Legacy Credits, some people in the community have expressed that they feel a bit cheated.
The issue here is thatLegacy Credits inOverwatch 2can be earned for free by progressing through the battle pass and leveling up heroes. Comments from the player base note that they don’t mind so much that limited-time skins like Beekeeper Sigma and Hermes Lucio are being brought back, but it does bother them that they aren’t being revived at the same price point they once were. While some players paid real money to get these cosmetics, others are acquiring them for free.
This isn’t the first time that Blizzard has done this seeing asDemon Hunter Sombra used to be an exclusive itemfor virtual ticket holders at BlizzCon 2018. However, she returned as a reward during the Halloween Terror event the following year. For those who spent $49.99 to procure her, it was surprising that others were able to get it at no cost. This issue is ongoing, considering the existence of the Anniversary Shop and the Owl Guardian Mercy skin that’s currently free to grab for Amazon Prime users, even though it used to cost 1,000 Overwatch coins.
While there are those who are happy that Blizzard appears to be releasing more cosmetics for free, others think that this shouldn’t be at the expense of those who already spent money. Many agree thatOverwatch 2needs more free content, but the way the game goes about it is important. Whether Blizzard plans to address this issue is to be seen, but hopefully it will touch on the matter soon.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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