Blizzard Promises Overwatch 2 Players Free Items To Make Up For Brutal Launch

In response to Overwatch 2’s rough launch, Blizzard is promising a few in-game rewards as an apology. In a blog post, they committed to running several Double Match XP weekends that will help with leveling up the Battle Pass. Additionally, those who log in between Oct. 25 and the end of Season One (which goes until Dec. 6) will receive “an all-new Cursed Captain Reaper Legendary skin and a Health Pack Weapon Charm.” They also said while they are tracking further bugs, they claim to have “largely stabilized the game overall,” likely referring to launch day issues where players had to wait in several hours queue times and experienced constant login issues or disconnects.

Still, many players are unsatisfied with these free offerings, in part because the game’s new monetization practices have been described as stingy. To unlock cosmetic items in Overwatch 2, players need to either progress in the Battle Pass, earn an in-game currency, or purchase them outright. However, it is currently difficult to accrue enough in-game currency to buy anything, as little is rewarded for completing challenges. Additionally, progressing in the Battle Pass is relatively slow, and even if you invest the time, the flashiest skins require purchasing the premium version of the Pass for $10. While the switch to Free to Play means there needs to be some form of monetization, most players agree that the current system feels unrewarding.

Additionally, the company’s known issues page still lists several problems like Bastion and Torbjörn being disabled from certain modes due to bugs with their abilities, disconnects causing players to become banned, account merging issues, incorrectly locked heroes and items, and many smaller bugs.