For the first time in a long time,Overwatch 2has a major competitor.Marvel Rivalshas taken the hero shooter world by storm since its launch last December, and ever since,Overwatchfans have been curious to see how Blizzard would react to the sudden contender.
Today’sOverwatch 2Spotlightshowed that Blizzard isn’t ready to letMarvel Rivalswalk all over it just yet. Over the course of 34 minutes, Blizzard announced a slew of new features coming toOverwatch 2in the near future, including a revolutionary new perk system that lets players customize their hero abilities, and a new third-person Stadium game mode. But while a ton of new features were announced,Overwatch 2’s most exciting upcoming content is arguably the features that bring it closer in line with the 2016 original.
Overwatch 2’s Season 15 Update Has Some Big Features That Cater to OW1 Fans
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Is Bringing Back Loot Boxes
Loot boxes were an incredibly controversial aspect of the video game industry at their height of prevalence in the late 2010s. A virtual crate containing a random assortment of in-game items,loot boxes were deemed as a form of gamblingby many gaming regulation authorities, and thus heavy restrictions were placed on them in most countries.
When it came time to releaseOverwatch 2in 2022, Blizzard made the decision to remove loot boxes altogether. Very soon, fans began to express their disappointment with this decision. WhenOverwatch 2first released, the only way to get skins was to earn them through the premium battle pass or purchase them outright usingOW2’s in-game currency.Overwatch 1’s loot boxesat least gave players a chance to earn expensive skins for less money, or entirely free-of-charge if they earned them through leveling up.
After years of asking, fans are finally getting their wish. Loot boxes return toOverwatch 2at the beginning of Season 15. The recentOverwatch 2Spotlight confirmed that loot boxes will be available in the free track of the battle pass and via weekly rewards. It also seems like players will be guaranteed to earn a legendary skin for every 20 loot boxes they open.
Overwatch 2Season 15 begins on February 18.
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Doubles Down on OW Classic and 6v6
Overwatch 2’s recent 6v6 playtestshave done a great job of enticingOWveterans to return to the game, offering a gameplay experience much more akin to the early days of the original hero shooter. The recentOverwatch 2Spotlight showed that Blizzard is doubling down on these playtests, with 6v6 getting its own Competitive queue in Season 15’s mid-season update. This 6v6 Comp mode will be open queue, but there will be a limit of two tanks per team.
On top of 6v6 getting its own Competitive queue,Overwatch 2will also be adding anew “Overwatch Classic” modeto the game, this time hearkening back to one of the original’s most infamous competitive metas. Named after the Esports team that dominated the 2018 North AmericanOverwatchOpen Division Season 2, the GOATS meta sees a team pick three supports and three tanks. This meta became wildly popular in 2019, and it makes its return inOverwatch 2Season 15’s mid-season update.
