“€40 for a skin”

For the latest skin in Overwatch 2 you have to put €40 on the table. Is the skin worth it? And why is the community so angry?

The 7th season of Overwatch 2 has just started. In keeping with October, the whole game now has a Halloween look and this time the horror is heavily based on Diablo IV.

The trailer already showed some interesting skins for popular characters – but no skin attracted as much attention as the “Lilith” skin for Moira. This transforms the popular supporter into Lilith from Diablo IV – along with some new voicelines.

This is how the community reacts: However, there is an outcry in the community. Because if you want the Lilith skin from Moira, you have to put €40 on the table. The Lilith skin is part of a big bundle that includes two more skins and a lot of other stuff, including the Battle Pass and enough in-game currency to buy two more Battle Passes.

The fact that the community is not very enthusiastic can be seen in the official forum as well as in the Overwatch subreddit and on Twitter. Just a few impressions:

What’s actually in the bundle? If you take a closer look at the bundle, it’s a pretty good deal compared to the other prices in the shop. Before you tear me apart, do the math:

Let’s leave out all the “small animals”, i.e. the 20 Battle Pass skips, the spray logos and highlight intros. It’s always just filler anyway and that’s what nobody cares about.

Then you have the Battle Pass for the current season (€10) and 2,000 Overwatch coins (€20) – so already €30 in value. This is worth considering for long-term players anyway, because you can also use the 2,000 Overwatch coins to buy the next two battle passes. As an active player who buys the Battle Pass every season, you would spend this €30 anyway.

So there remains the “extra” 10 €, for which you then get 3 skins:

If you play actively and plan to continue to do so, you will get at least two really detailed skins with your own voice lines and a cool Diablo look for “€10 extra”. For everyone who already knows that they want to play at least 2 Battle Passes in the future, this is a solid offer.

Or to summarize: If you play actively and buy the Battle Pass every month and like playing Moira or Pharah, you have a pretty solid deal here.

I don’t want to defend the whole system at all. The fact that you can only get the skin from the bundle is a disappointment that I can more than understand. Because no matter how you twist and turn it – if you want this skin, you have to put €40 on the table or hope that it will become available individually in the shop at some point.

I also realize that Blizzard deliberately marketed this as a “carrot in front of their nose.” The Lilith skin was touted in the trailer and only making it available through the most expensive bundle is a very conscious decision to get more money.

Is that greedy?
In any case.

Is it really as bad as people are making it out to be?
I don’t think so.

Ultimately, this is about a single skin in a game where you only see your characters’ hands 99% of the time anyway.

If you think about it rationally, it is of course “crazy” to spend €40 on cosmetic stuff. You could also get 1-2 smaller, good games on Steam.

It’s a shame that the (subjectively) best skin of the season is behind a €40 paywall. But let me ask you a bit casually: Didn’t you all already expect that? This is how most Free2Play games now work and Overwatch 2 must also be viewed from this perspective.

Of course that doesn’t make it any better. But at least more understandable.

Someone at Blizzard must have calculated that you will make more money for the skin if you sell it in a €40 bundle instead of offering it individually in the shop for €10, €15 or €20.

I mean, this has actually become the most normal thing in gaming in the world. Because where are the premium skins, the very special outfits or the pre-order mounts in games? In the most expensive bundle available. You then pay €20-40 on top of the basic price of the game “just to have the great skin”. It’s no different here – except that the basic game is Free2Play.

If that doesn’t suit you: vote with your wallets. Don’t buy it. Then the skin will almost certainly end up in the shop as an individual offer sooner or later.

The whole skin issue means that Overwatch 2 is – once again – starting a new season with a negative aftertaste. And that despite the fact that the game otherwise does a lot right. Because the new map, the Sombra rework and the new event mode are really fun.

It’s just a shame that Blizzard is tearing down the good points “in passing” and once again overshadowing everything with questionable pricing policy.

There will be more news about Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon 2023 – in a few weeks.