Blizzard confirms that new characters in Overwatch 2 will be part of the battle pass system

[Steve]

This is already pissing a lot of people off.

In the first Overwatch game, when a new character was released, every player had access to it on day one. In Overwatch 2, new characters will be tied into the battle pass system.

For people who have the time/inclination to play the game a lot, this isn't going to be a major problem as new characters will be on the free tracks of the battle passes, but there will be people who just don't have the free time to grind. No doubt, like most games with battle passes, you will be able to buy "level skips", enabling you to pay to unlock content faster.

Each season in Overwatch 2 lasts for a limited time, so if you don't unlock a new character during the season it's released in, you will have to wait until it comes back round in a future battle pass to have a new opportunity to unlock it.

Ultimately, what this means is, not every player will have access to the same roster of characters. People with either more free time to play, or more money to spend, will be at an advantage over players with less time/disposable income. A brand new player who hops into the game 12 months after it's released will not be able to access the same characters as someone that's been playing since the start.

I think this really sucks. Also, when Overwatch 2 is released on October 4th, the first Overwatch will essentially no longer exist as there's not going to be 2 separate games, so if you don't like the changes they've made with the sequel in terms of 5 Vs. 5 or the battle pass system, tough shit.

[neks]

EA did that with StarWars Battlefront and it didn't go well from a PR standpoint, though arguably the grind was worse on paper.

You bet Blizzard will be very focused on selling skins and characters. They must realized they made a mistake (i.e. missed on a ton of cash) when they release the game not following the fortnite model. And I hate that model (besides the fact that selling skins for a FPS is stupid, I play Apex so I know lol)

[djdiggla]

This is why I hate gaming now. 

[Steve]

The first game made over a billion dollars from selling lootboxes by the middle of 2019. That's on top of the income brought in from selling the game itself.

They could have put skins, sprays, emotes, voice lines etc. in the battle passes and people would have still thrown money at them, while keeping characters, maps, and modes out of it and available to all on the day they're released.

It's worse than with some other games that lock characters away, because in OW, certain characters counter each other. If I'm playing Zenyatta and the enemy Tracer keeps trying to attack our back line and kill the supports, I'll switch to Brig, for example, but what if Brig was behind a pay wall and I didn't have her?

I hope they back down on this.

 

[scottie(the)goonie]

The minute they class locked Overwatch I lost interest in the game.  Locking down characters just makes that worse.

[Steve]

Some details about the battle pass have leaked, but take this info with a pinch of salt.

Supposedly each premium battle pass will cost $10. If a new character is part of that season, you get the character instantly when you pay for the pass.

Any new character will also be available on the free track of the battle pass, and is unlocked by reaching level 20. That will apparently take 15-20 hours. You can buy a skip to level 20 for $5.

If you miss out on obtaining a character because that season has ended, you will be able to unlock it by completing a challenge. An example of such a challenge is playing 25 games of quick play as a support.

Competitive play will only be available to people who have all of the characters unlocked, so you will not be disadvantaged cos someone on your team doesn't have all of the characters for their role unlocked.

If the above is true, it's pretty bad, but it could be worse. There are 6 seasons a year, so if you bought the premium battle pass for each one that's only 60 bucks a year, but you can play the game and unlock new characters without having to pay anything at all. It definitely sucks for people who don't have the time to play a lot though, cos 15-20 hours of play time to unlock a character for free is a lot for most people.