Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game. The primary form of monetization is the purchase of cosmetics using various premium currencies.

Despite being marketed as a new game, Overwatch 2 was a new version completely replacing Overwatch 1. This upgrade was primarily a revamp of the old cosmetics system, which used Lootboxes as its main way of acquiring cosmetics. All cosmetics earned in Overwatch 1 carried over to Overwatch 2. The previous currency was deprecated and could no longer be earned. This changed down the line, and the legacy currency was made into a current currency again, but only for limited cosmetics.

Multiple currencies

Overwatch 2 makes use of a wide variety of currencies, all used to purchase different cosmetic items. There's 8 in total;

Overwatch Coins are used for the majority of purchases. The coins are purchased via bundles where 1,000 Coins can be acquired for roughly 10 USD, with larger bundles granting larger amounts. The sizes of these bundles are all awkward and never match the price of any purchasable items. These coins can be earned in a limited amount for free through in-game means. Earning enough for one of the higher-priced cosmetics will take you over a year of saving up. Earning enough for the premium battle pass will take roughly 6 months, assuming you complete all the required bits, which takes a large time investment. While it's better than nothing, it could also be looked at as free samples designed to lure you into spending more, as the time spent to earn these currencies is wildly out of balance with what you get in return.

Overwatch League Tokens, used to purchase e-Sports related cosmetics, can be earned by watching Overwatch related e-Sports events. With the main event, the Overwatch League, being shut down, the chance to earn these tokens is severely limited. Instead of earning the tokens by watching streams, you choose to purchase them instead. The price of both the tokens and the cosmetics has increased dramatically as compared to Overwatch 1, even for skins that are not new to Overwatch 2. Despite being intended for e-Sports related cosmetics, sometimes other non-related skins are introduced for a limited amount of time. These can only be bought with these tokens and not with the regular premium currency, despite being no different.

Mythic Prisms, used to purchase the highest ticket cosmetics called "Mythic". Each Battle Pass season comes with a Mythic skin for a particular hero. Previously these skins would be available as direct rewards from the Battle Pass, but this system was changed. Instead, you now unlock Prisms throughout the Battle Pass. Prisms are used to unlock Mythic Skins, with each skin having various levels of upgrade-ability. For instance, a base skin costs 50 Prisms. From here you can purchase a color variant for another 10 Prisms. Skins have multiple upgrades, most either 2 or 3, for a total of 70 to 80 Prisms. It's not possible to purchase an upgrade by itself without purchasing the base cosmetic first. This new system allows you to unlock skins from previous seasons, rather than only the one in the current Battle Pass. The catch here is that Shards can also be acquired separately from the Battle Pass for roughly 10 USD for 10 Prisms. Purchasing a fully "upgraded" Mythic Skin thereby costs roughly 70 USD, depending on the bundle of currency you purchase. It doesn't end there, as there each Mythic skin has another extra "Gilded" tier on top for an additional 20 Prisms, or roughly 20 USD, totally 100 Mythic Prisms for a full upgrade, which can be bought for roughly 75 USD Later seasons have started to release multiple Mythic Cosmetics per season, so purchasing just the Battle Pass is not enough to unlock both, as a Battle Pass rewards only 80 Prisms in total. If you want multiple Mythic cosmetics per season, you will be spending more money than you would on a full-priced game. This also means it's not possible to fully upgrade 1 single Mythic skin with the rewards of a single Battle Pass.

Overwatch Credits are the free-to-play currency. This currency is earned through various in-game challenges and can be used to unlock many skins that were carried over from Overwatch 1, as well as new low-tier cosmetics such as voice lines, emotes, and sprays. This currency is earned at a very slow pace.

Competitive Points are used to purchase very specific cosmetics for each hero. This currency is only available during a one-year period, after which it is converted to "Legacy Competitive Points". The currency is earned through playing games in the Competitive game mode and cannot be purchased for real money. This currency can be earned again during the next year period, used for a new cosmetic of the same type. All cosmetics earned through this currency are significantly lower quality than its premium counterparts.

Legacy Competitive Points are earned through not spending Competitive Points during its related year. These legacy points are spent on cosmetics from previous time periods. As you only earn them through expiry, it can take a full year to earn any points at all. If you want a particular cosmetic from previous eras, you might be in for a long wait.

Previous events have awarded "Tickets". These tickets could be earned for free, but more could be earned through a premium track. The system to earn tickets is similar to that of a battle pass, but rather than earning cosmetics over levels, you earn tickets which can be used to purchase the cosmetics of your choice. If you did not spend the tickets before the event was over, they would be converted to the free currency, even if you paid for them initially.

The game also includes purchases that can only be made with real money. This is always in the form of bundles with items that cannot be acquired on their own.

The large amount of different currencies adds to the overall feeling of "exclusive" items that are only exclusive because Blizzard tells you they are. By using multiple currencies, they can price items at higher prices and control how you can spend them. You may have a lot of currency A, but you will need to purchase currency B to get what you really want. The abstraction of all these currencies is intended to get you to spend.

Battle Pass

Overwatch features a Battle Pass that functions similar to other games, expiring when the season is over, resulting in lost items if you did not complete the pass in time, despite having paid for it. The main draw of the Battle Pass is Mythic Prisms, which are used to unlock Mythic Cosmetics. Each Battle Pass comes in 4 different versions;

- Free, earning you a limited amount of cosmetics, as well as 200 premium currency when you unlock almost all of the tiers.
- Premium, for 1,000 Coins (roughly 10 USD) granting you all of the cosmetics in the premium track as well as additional premium currency (but still not enough to purchase the next season's Battle Pass)
- Premium + Skips, for 2,200 Coins (roughly 20 USD) granting the premium track as well as 20 levels.
- Ultimate, this cannot be purchased for coins and instead can be purchased for roughly 40 USD. This unlocks all of the previous as well as additional unique skins and 2,000 Coins.

Levels in the pass can be purchased individually if you want to speed up your progress. These come out to 200 Coins per skip, or roughly 2 USD. Unlocking the full pass would cost 160 USD.

Seasons in Overwatch are shorter in length than in many comparable games, keeping up with each Battle Pass will cost you more per year.

Premium store

Most new cosmetics are only available through a time-limited always rotating store. This includes items purchased during limited events. This shop primarily features bundles, but also includes single items. Bundles are always marked as having a discount. In reality this is not a discount, it's the amount you "save" by purchasing all the items in a bundle, rather than purchasing the items on their own. The items in the bundles can be purchased individually, but this is done in a confusing way. Rather than in the shop, you have to go through different menus and find the individuals items by yourself. This obscurity makes the confusing discounted prices all the more deceiving, as you might not even realize it possible to purchase items individually.

Collaborations and advertisements

Overwatch frequently features "Collabs", which are brand opportunities between different companies, merging their IPs. This is often in the form of character cosmetics, either individually or in bundles. It's not uncommon for these bundles to cost 50 USD and above.

It could be argued that some of these collabs are genuine attempts at merging two fan bases, either getting one fan base interested in the other, or pleasing those already interested in both. In other cases, these collabs are straight-up advertisements with in-game cosmetics directly advertising real-world products, rather than different IPs. Where you draw the line between a genuine collab and an advertisement will vary case by case, person to person, but it cannot be denied that Overwatch has featured collabs where the benefit of the third party is vastly outweighed by the benefit to the player.

Lootboxes

The main way of getting cosmetics in Overwatch 1 was through Lootboxes. These were earned frequently through regular play, but could also be purchased. With the move to Overwatch 2 Lootboxes were removed. Over 2 years into it's life Lootboxes have returned, but slightly different. Lootboxes are now earned through various challenges or as Battle Pass rewards. Lootboxes can contain most cosmetics the game offers, excluding content from the new season, special events, and previous Battle Pass rewards. While most of these are free, it should be noted that some limited number of lootboxes can only be acquired through the premium Battle Pass, and as such are paid options.

Playable content

When Overwatch 2 was first announced, its major new form of content would be PvE content. When Overwatch 2 was released, it did so without this PvE present, stating it was delayed and would release at a later date. Many months later it was announced that the PvE content was canceled. Despite the cancellation, Blizzard still sells some of the leftover content through the "Invasion Bundle", priced at roughly 15 USD. This bundle includes 3 PvE missions, premium currency, and cosmetics. Purchasing the PvE missions on their own is not possible, as such you will need to spend more if you wish to play these missions. This content is vastly watered down from what was initially promised, and no new content is expected. They are selling the canceled leftovers, something that would not fly if this was a stand-alone game.

Other

Overwatch utilizes playable heroes that all have their own set of cosmetics. When Overwatch 2 was released, new heroes would be unlocked through lengthy unlock processes that could be bypassed with money. New heroes would unlock via the Battle Pass. This could be done via the free track, which would take a substantial amount of time, or you could purchase the premium Battle Pass and unlock the hero instantly. If you missed out on locking the hero during that season you could instead unlock it via a set of challenges that took a long time to complete, or you could spend money to unlock them instantly. This system was heavily disliked as it put players at unfair (dis)advantages, as such this system was removed and all heroes are available for free right as they get released.

Some Mythic cosmetics can alternatively be purchased in bundles that can only be acquired for real money, rather than any of the various premium currencies. Despite this bundle costing roughly 40 USD, it only unlocks the base level for that Mythic cosmetic. At first glance, these bundles are made to look like they are great value against the other purchase methods, but only when you look closely do you realize you only unlock part of the cosmetic. This bundle also grants 2,000 premium currency, but this currency can not be Mythic cosmetics, so they can't be used for the remaining upgrades. The whole system is confusing on purpose.

Overwatch 2 features an optional subscription fee through Xbox GamePass. This fee grants you access to a selection of in-game cosmetics that were available in the previous 3 seasons.

Overwatch 2 is a very expensive free-to-play game. Every bit of content is centered around cosmetics, most of which are available through deceiving and confusing methods.