Activision Blizzard Announces Return Of Lootboxes For ‘Overwatch 2’, In Doing So Reverting The Last Major Change From Original Game And Proving How Pointless The Sequel’s Existence Actually Was
In a move that serves to confirm the widely-held player belief that the sequel’s production was both completely unnecessary and a cheap ploy to help the company win back any amount of good will, Activision Blizzard has announced that the lootbox system found in the original Overwatch will once again be joining the fight against the Omnics.
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This backtrack was first confirmed on February 12th, courtesy of the official Overwatch series Twitter account.
Therein, amidst a series of teasers as to what players could expect out of Overwatch 2‘s upcoming Season 15 update, the account eventually revealed that one such thing would be the fact that “LOOT BOXES. ARE. BACK.”
“Available in both the Battle Pass and weekly rewards, see what surprises are waiting for you when Loot Boxes make their official return in Season 15,” the account added.
In the original Overwatch, lootboxes served as the primary way in which players could obtain character cosmetics, with anyone who opened the digital item being gifted with four random items, the offerings including skins, voice lines, profile icons, and visual emotes.
Able to be obtained either through normal play or the exchange of real-world currency, these lootboxes also provided players with ‘Overwatch Credits ‘for duplicate items, which could then be used to directly buy a specific item instead of leaving its reception to chance.
However, when Activision Blizzard shuttered the original game in favor of Overwatch 2 in October 2022, they also did away with lootboxes.
Instead, the developer not only replaced them with a noticeably pricey and actively rotating shop, but also radically changed Overwatch 2‘s in-game economy, downgrading the buying power of Overwatch Credits so that they could only be used for legacy or ‘lower tier’ cosmetics and bringing the total number of currencies to an insulting six – Overwatch Credits, Ovewatch Coins, Overwatch League Tokens, Competitive Points, and Mythic Shards – all of which were to be used for different categories of items.
Further, while lootboxes will once again be available for purchase, they will not be replacing the game’s predatory economy. Rather, they will be added as an obtainable item, which players can do either through Battle Pass redemptions or direct purchase.
While the return of loot boxes is sadly a welcome one (it’s an indicator to how bad Activision Blizzard screwed the pooch here that players are actually rejoicing at the return of a random chance gatcha mechanic), they also represent the metaphorical final nail in the coffin of the embarassing experiment that is Overwatch 2.
When the sequel was announced, Activision Blizzard touted three key differences as justification for its development, including a lootbox-less in-game economy, a shift in gameplay from 6v6 match-ups to 5v5, and the long-awaited introduction of story-based ‘Player vs. Everyone’ modes.
Yet, in the two years since release, not only have the PvE plans long-since been abandoned, but the 6v6 mode has returned as a staple of Overwatch 2‘s arcade mode (which hosts a variety of non-standard, often absurd game modes) and lootboxes will soon be re-introduced.
In other words, when Season 15 hits, there will exist no significant difference between the first and second Overwatch titles that could not have been handled via usual game patches and updates.
So, at the end of the day, one may ask: Well, what was the point of all that then?
While official confirmation will likely stay under wraps for the foreseeable future, speculation strongly suggests that, as noted above, the release of Overwatch 2 was seen as a ‘slam dunk’ opportunity for Activision Blizzard to attempt to excite the hero shooter’s playerbase after years of neglect and not-so-subtly nudge them into spending more and more money to engage with the game.
However, as it turns out, players aren’t dumb, and it is seemingly thanks to the widespread refusal by many to engage with such predatory practices that Activision Blizzard is now throwing up the white flag.
As mentioned above, lootboxes will officially return to Overwatch 2 when Season 15 makes its debut this coming Tuesday, February 18th.
NEXT: In Response To Sequel’s Lack Of Profits, Blizzard Completely Scraps ‘Overwatch 2’ PvE Plans
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