Overwatch 2 has dropped its first Developer Update of 2024, and oh boy it is a doozy.
Changing hero unlocks, removing the FOMO-factor of mythic skins and adding premium currency to the Battle Pass – the whole thing reads like a community wishlist from 9 seasons ago.
The future of Overwatch 2 can’t come soon enough 🙌
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 19, 2024
🦸 All Heroes are Unlocked
😍 Unlock Past Mythic Skins
💰 Earn 600 Coins in the Battle Pass
🇵🇪 New Push Map: Runasapi in Season 11
⚔️ Clash Game Mode Trial in Season 10
Stay tuned for even more updates soon ✨ pic.twitter.com/027nB0bTXp
When Overwatch 2 launched, one of its most disliked features was the introduction of hero unlocks – essentially gating new characters behind a currency buy-in, or Battle Pass progression. Overwatch is a game that absolutely lives and breathes through engaging and exciting characters with unique battlefield roles, so in a nutshell not a single living soul liked this system. Some changes were made, like moving the tier to unlock a character to be earlier in the BP, but it was still a dreadful thing.
This is out the window, with Blizzard finally accepting that it was an uphill battle to shape unlocks into something acceptable – and now the games 40th hero, Venture, will simply be available for players upon their release.
Next up is a promised feature from a while back – removing the gross FOMO-ness of Mythic Skins. One of the big ticket additions to Overwatch 2 was the introduction of super deluxe Mythic-tier skins that really added flair to an existing character. Each Battle Pass released would award a Mythic skin for its completion; which would then end up in the vault once the Battle Pass period expired. It’s an all too familiar practice in games nowadays, time gating a Battle Pass to promote panic buying and motivation for players to rush through it and get their goodies. It’s a dark pattern social manipulation practice that feels quite malicious for the community, punishing those who don’t bow to the whim of these premium purchase limitations – and openly hostile to anyone who may be a late adopter and realises that the content they perhaps want has long been locked away.
Well Blizzard is addressing this, by untying Mythic skins from the Battle Pass and instead moving them to a store tab – allowing players to earn a unique ‘Prisms’ currency and then purchase whichever skin they desire. This also addresses a common complaint from Overwatch players – when the introduced Mythic skin is not for a character they are interested in. It means that you can now bank away these tokens to maybe pick up a skin of your choice later, bypassing any goobers that don’t float your boat.
Taking the time to dig around some other developer comments, I can’t help but notice they also mention that these Prisms will also be purchasable – meaning another micro currency within the game and of course, another revenue stream. It will be worth keeping an eye on this particular facet of the Mythic change, because I wouldn’t be surprise to see a hefty price tag on those suckers.
Season 10 is shaping up to be a great one 🙌
— Overwatch (@OverwatchEU) March 19, 2024
Hear what Game Director Aaron Keller has to say about future updates coming to Overwatch 2 ✨ pic.twitter.com/FmGSa32ABX
Finally, the last big ticket item that leapt out to me was the addition of premium currency to the Battle Pass. Good lord, this has been a hotly requested feature since they first brought Battle Passes to Overwatch 2. Other titles have been known to create a financial eco system to convince players to return every season, where you can earn enough currency within a Battle Pass to purchase the next one – a cycle that does a lot to keep an online games community engaged and feeling rewarded (in a way).
In the case of Overwatch 2, you will not earn enough to purchase your next Battle Pass outright. But if you are routinely completing the pass, you will have a hefty discount on your next one – which is neat, I guess? Couple this with the premium currency rewards from weekly challenges and you will be seeing more cash in your pocket and less streaming through the Battle.Net client.
All in all, some super positive changes. Making the game more generous can be an engaging way to get players back on board, considering the volatile nature of the community at times in regards to the shifting meta and awkward pricing. Will be worth keeping an eye on this as it progresses to Season 10.
Do these changes address some of the long term gripes you may have had with Overwatch 2? Are you chuffed to pick up a Mythic skin you may have missed? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
