Removing gambling was good, but….
When Blizzard removed loot boxes from Overwatch when Overwatch 2 launched in October 2022, many players rejoiced. Many – including this avid gamer – viewed loot boxes as gambling, a gaming mechanic that could put vulnerable people, such as children and those with addiction issues, at risk.
There are no gambling or gambling-like features in Overwatch 2 anymore
But is the system that replaced loot boxes any better? Maybe from a predatory perspective, because there are definitely no gambling or gambling-like features in Overwatch 2 anymore. But the new way Blizzard has leveraged the game — a store and Battle Pass similar to what other popular games have — has taken a lot of the fun out of a game that was one of the shining examples of what multiplayer first-person shooters can be.
Gambling may be over, but is the fun gone too? Let’s take a look at what Overwatch was and what it is now.
Overwatch had the best loot box mechanics
Part of the fun and motivation of playing video games in the “live service” era of gaming is the ability for players to earn rewards. Depending on the game, these rewards can be cosmetic items such as character “skins” (costumes) and sprays, or items that provide in-game benefits such as weapon add-ons or power-ups.
Overwatch rewards have always been purely cosmetic: skins, sprays, voice lines, player icons, and the like. It’s just for fun and has no impact on gameplay. In the original Overwatch game, which debuted in May 2016, players earned these rewards through loot boxes. Each loot box contains four mystery items of varying rarity.
Overwatch Loot Crates can be purchased from the in-game store with real money or obtained by simply playing the game. Although I consider purchased loot boxes a gamble, Overwatch’s loot box system was the best in the industry, as they were easy to earn for free and none of the items offered in-game benefits. I have almost every cosmetic item from Overwatch 1 and have never spent a dime after my original purchase of the game.
Those with addiction problems can quickly find themselves in trouble.
But I see the problem with loot boxes, even the ones in Overwatch. Kids may not understand the concepts of randomness and chance and use their parents’ credit cards to buy truckloads of loot boxes in an attempt to get the legendary look they desire. There were also time-limited items, only available during seasonal events, so there was a temptation to buy “just one more box” as the event was about to end. Those with addiction problems can quickly find themselves in trouble.
Fortunately, I played enough where I got most of the stuff through free loot boxes and had enough in-game currency (obtained when getting loot box items I already owned) that I could buy anything I didn’t have without spending Real money. But again, I understand why people don’t like loot boxes and I’m not upset that Overwatch is getting rid of them.
From gambling to greed
But the problem is that Overwatch 2’s monetization is terrible. I won’t go into the history of Overwatch 2’s development, but one of the key things to know is that it went from a game that players had to purchase to a free-to-play game. Because it’s free, Blizzard had to figure out how to make money without loot boxes.
Enter the Store and Battle Pass. As in other games, players earn experience points (XP) through gameplay. After they earn enough XP to level up, they move up to a higher level in the Battle Pass. With each level came a reward that was an item in the old loot boxes (and in Overwatch 1, you got a loot box and thus four items for each level up). well good. But most of the rewards in the Battle Pass are trivial things, like weapon trinkets or player icons that no one cares about. To get most of the goodies, like the new legendary skins, you have to pay $10 for the “premium” battle pass. The Battle Pass is good for one season, and each season lasts for two months, so that’s $60 per year to get all the Battle Pass items, assuming you play enough to get past all 80 levels in each season.
But the absolute worst part about the Battle Pass is that new heroes are locked inside. In the original Overwatch, you purchased the game and then got all the new heroes, maps, and game modes for free when they released. They were just part of the game. Now, you either have to purchase the premium Battle Pass to unlock the new hero immediately or reach level 45 in the free version of the Battle Pass. Don’t have time to reach level 45? It’s unfortunate that you won’t get the hero until it becomes available again, and now you won’t get the full game experience.
Overwatch is a game built around heroes and their lore, and locking in new heroes in the Battle Pass ruins some of that fun. It also effectively makes the game pay-to-win, as those who have the money to purchase the premium Battle Pass can get the new heroes right away and get the in-game strategic advantage they may offer.
The store is sneaky
The store is terrible too. Skins and other items that you would normally get in loot boxes now cost real money. It’s true that there’s no gambling anymore, so if you spend money, you get exactly what you want, but the prices are exorbitant. For example, the Legendary skin costs 1,900 Overwatch Coins, or $19. Just for costume.
What Blizzard is hiding from you is that you can actually purchase many items individually
There are also hero packs, which usually include a skin, victory pose, voice line, player icon, and spray (give or take). These obviously cost more than just looks, but they are “discounted” from the price you would pay for each one individually. This is all well and good, but Blizzard did something nasty and predatory here. When you look at the bundle items, they are individually unlocked, so you need to purchase the entire bundle, even if you only want one item. But what Blizzard is hiding from you is that you can actually purchase many items individually, often with no money at all.
If you go to the hero page in the game — the screen where you can customize your hero — you can see all the items you don’t currently own for that hero. Often times, the same items from the Store Pack will be present and will be unlockable by either spending Overwatch Coins (the premium currency, primarily available through real-money purchases) or Overwatch Credits (which is much easier to earn in-game currency).
There is no way on this store page to purchase this skin outside of the package, so if I want it, it’s $14
Looking at the current store, there’s a D.Va “Jolly” bundle for 1,400 Overwatch Credits, or $14. I have some items, but I don’t have the legendary “sled” skin. There’s no way on this store page to purchase this skin outside of the bundle, so if I want it, that’s $14 out of my pocket (technically $11.76, as Overwatch discounts the bundle if you already own any of the items).
But wait… If you go to my D.Va hero page and scroll down to the two skins I don’t own, one of them is the skate skin. I can unlock it for just 1,500 Overwatch credits, of which I have about 80,000, and I haven’t paid for any of them. Making it seem like I can’t purchase a pack’s skin individually – not even with real money – if I don’t investigate each page very carefully is hugely manipulative.
And now the sub battle pass?
The recently completed Winter Wonderland event was arguably even sneakier. This event introduced a secondary battle card called the Winter Exhibition Event Card. With the free version, you can earn up to 120 event tickets by playing the game. If you buy a Premium pass for $5, you can earn up to 480 tickets (keep in mind, again, that you still have to play a lot to earn all the tickets).
With these tickets, you can purchase special skins and items for winter characters. However, there’s a big problem: of the five skins, two of them cost 160 tickets, so this was out of the question unless you bought the premium pass. Enter FOMO. Players will see these skins – I especially like the ones for Bastion and Baptiste – and feel like they have to spend the extra money to get the premium pass.
But hey, even with the Premium Pass, you still can’t get everything – you can’t even just buy skins and not everything else. If you do the math right, all the Winter Wonderland items combined cost 700 tickets.
So there was no way to get enough tickets to get all the items… or was there? The Winter Wonderland event also includes a limited-time Tracer Hero Pack in the store for $30. In that bundle, you got a skin, four other items, and 575 event tickets. This is the only way to get enough tickets to purchase all Winter Wonderland items. Spend $5 on the Premium Pass plus another $30 on the Tracer bundle.
People thought loot boxes were predatory… and this seems predatory in a completely different way.
manipulate
Now one may ask: What is the problem? The game is free. You don’t need any of the things that cost money. Just have fun playing the game.”
This is a valid point. I don’t play Overwatch to be rewarded with “stuff”. I play because the game is fun. But Blizzard and other game developers have built incentives into every game to keep people playing, to keep people spending money, lest they miss something.
It’s a humiliating feeling for Overwatch 1 players
With Overwatch 2, specifically, the new monetization system is such a departure from the original game’s system that it feels insulting to Overwatch 1 players. The game has gone from being a one-time purchase and being able to earn almost all rewards for free to a free-to-play game that burdens you with microtransactions ( And it’s not actually “small”!). It’s very difficult to stare at these rewards and items every session and not feel like you’re missing out on everything if you don’t spend money, especially new heroes.
Hell, I bought Overwatch 1 for less money than it cost to get everything in the Winter Wonderland event.
Need a balance between player and company
How can all this be fixed? I’m not really sure – there are no perfect answers. One thing I’d like to see is a Battle Pass system like Fortnite’s, where you can earn enough in-game currency in the Battle Pass to eventually purchase a future Battle Pass. It may take the better part of a year in the free version of the Battle Pass, but it can still be done without any financial outlay. And in the paid premium version, you can earn more than you need to buy your next Battle Pass, so you can save the extra currency to spend in the Fortnite Store.
Loot Chests can also be returned, but not for purchase. It is earned in-game only. This way, it’s not a gamble, but the fun part of the loot box puzzle comes back.
Of course, it’s all about the money, so if any of these things mean less money for Blizzard, they probably won’t get done.
