In Overwatch 2, loot boxes no longer exist.
Within the salvo of information just released by Blizzard on Overwatch 2, one of the most interesting aspects is the fact that the game will move from a retail model to a free model. The Overwatch 2 strategy also includes a concerted effort to deliver content on a regular basis with a new seasonal content structure. This new seasonal structure will include a premium battle pass no different from what stands out in other live service games, for which there will be exclusive and separate rewards available to subscribers.
With the advent of the battle pass also comes a store in the game that makes Overwatch loot boxes a thing of the past.
“Players will have a lot more control over how they interact with the game and how they acquire new content,” main hero designer Geoff Goodman said during the Overwatch 2 unveiling event.
Litter boxes have fallen into disrepair as a method of obtaining items, as the way they are designed and deployed can turn them into vectors for possible abuse. These are basically slot machines in which a player pays for the chance to win not cash but a coveted item. In an interview with Kotaku, an developer of Overwatch talked about how they generated excitement and anticipation to open a loot box to make it such a rewarding experience that a player will want to do it repeatedly, either by crushing the play or grab the pay shortcut. .
Many times, players will simply grab the pay shortcut and do it over and over again, especially if the item they want is rare and only available for a limited time (like this legendary Zenyatta skin). And this money for a -Random has led several countries to classify loot boxes as gambling and subject to regulation or to ban gambling with them. Removing the loot boxes seems like a step in the right direction for Overwatch 2.
In an interview with The Verge, the developers of Overwatch 2 declined to go into detail about what exactly will be the battle pass or how much it will cost. Nor did they say how the game store will work. Traditionally, an in-game store is a way for players to pay directly for what they want. The World of Warcraft game store works this way. But there’s also the specter of how Blizzard ran the Diablo Immortal money store that hid in the shadows of Overwatch 2’s bright, colorful background.
When Blizzard released Diablo Immortal in early June, it faced a lot of criticism for the way it structured the game’s cash store. Critics accused the game of being a pay-per-play game in which, to be good at the game, you have to spend money, often in exorbitant amounts, and are still not guaranteed that the desired item will fall. When The Verge asked if Blizzard had any comments about players’ dissatisfaction with Diablo Immortal’s seemingly blatant monetization scheme, he declined.
We don’t know the details of the Overwatch 2 monetization scheme yet, but the developers have promised more information in the future. I hope it’s more like World of Warcraft and less like Diablo Immortal.