Anyone who played the original Overwatch knows that lootboxes were a huge part of their mechanic, and players got to earn lootboxes through progression or were able to buy them for cash in the shop.
While Overwatch 2 had done away with lootboxes, it looks like Blizzard is going to be bringing them back in a limited capacity. But how will it be different this time?
Lootboxes Return to Overwatch 2
Lootboxes will be back in Overwatch 2 for Season 15, and just like before, opening them will reveal some random cosmetics and possible in-game currency for players. According to Polygon, the lootboxes will now be part of the free track battle pass and will be given away as part of the weekly rewards.
Senior Systems Designer Gavin Winter says about the returning lootboxes, “We’re keeping it fun while being transparent about what’s inside and the rate of various drops from opening each box.” There will be two types of lootboxes—standard and legendary, with the latter promising to contain legendary-level cosmetics.
It’s also said that lootboxes can be given away through Twitch drops and other kinds of events.
The Old Lootbox System
Before a battle pass existed on Overwatch, the main way people could get cosmetics would be through lootboxes. Players would get a chance to earn a lootbox with every level-up, and they would contain random cosmetics for every other character.
The system had been changed over time. Before people would get lots of duplicates with each lootbox opened, but Blizzard had changed it so that there would be less repeating items. The system is also rigged so that a legendary cosmetic is dropped after every 20 lootboxes opened.
Should a player get a repeat cosmetic though—which is considered rare—the item will instead just convert into points in the Battle Pass that will further players to their next loot box.
What Do Players Think?
Though players had been complaining about lootboxes back in the early days, they were suddenly changing their tune when Overwatch 2 got rid of them and they had to earn cosmetics via the Battle Pass only.
There was suddenly a cry to just bring back the lootboxes, and Overwatch 2 seemed to be fine with that system for a few years until they decided to bring them back. If anything, the game’s cosmetics and gallery do seem to work with the lootbox system, and it does allow for players to get some more random emotes and stickers—as compared to a Battle Pass where everyone was getting the same thing depending on their progression on the BP.
At least with lootboxes, the cosmetics are randomized and players can also have a chance to get skins for characters they never even knew they wanted to play. There have been gamers who have found themselves suddenly playing a character they’ve never touched—simply because a random lootbox gave them a legendary cosmetic for Zenyatta.
It’s unclear how Blizzard is going to improve this system, but older Overwatch players will remember the pre-OW2 lootbox days.
Season 15 of Overwatch 2 launches on Feb. 18.