Blizzard is now reporting with new information about Overwatch 2. One of the biggest changes compared to its predecessor: The loot system will no longer exist. Instead, Blizzard uses other monetization strategies.
Overwatch 2 arrives on October 4th, 2022 and offers its multiplayer mode in Free2Play model. Compared to the first part of the hero shooter, the developer studio has now announced some fundamental changes in a reveal event.
One of the biggest innovations concerns the monetization strategies within the game. So there will be no more loot boxes. In addition, large parts will be Free2Play. So how is Overwatch 2 planning to finance itself?
Overwatch 2 relies on Battle Pass and in-game shop
With what means does OW2 want to earn money? With the traditional revenue streams gone, Overwatch 2 needs new features that bring financial gain. For this purpose, the following two features were presented in the reveal event:
As a replacement for the loot system, there will be an in-game shop where you can get hero poses, skins, sayings and other cosmetics.
The advantage for you: You are no longer at the mercy of the random process of the loot boxes and you get the goodies that you really want for your money.
You also have the option to purchase Battle Passes. This also gives you access to exclusive in-game content and you can customize your heroes.
The planned PvE mode may also be part of the financing strategy. Whether you have to pay for it or not is not yet known.
By the way, a new heroine was announced for the Reveal event. We embed the trailer for you here:
Overwatch 2 reveals release year for PvE mode and new trailer for Junker Queen
Why is the loot system being abolished? With the elimination of loot boxes, players have more control over what items they want to acquire.
Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman said during the Overwatch 2 reveal event, “Players will have far more control over how they interact with the game and how they choose to purchase new content (via theverge.com).
In addition, loot systems generally do not have a particularly good reputation among players. One of the reasons for this could be the gambling character of the loot mechanism.
There was even a lot of controversy back then when it came to loot boxes in Overwatch.
Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they like to buy loot boxes and let themselves be surprised or whether they prefer to buy specific items.
Due to the similarity of loot box systems to gambling, there can also be major problems on the part of the developer studios. For example, the successful MMORPG Lost Ark was banned in Belgium and the Netherlands because of this similarity.
What do you think of loot boxes? Write it to us in the comments.