After Diablo Immortal, Overwatch 2 ditches lootboxes
Blizzard is taking a fresh approach to microtransactions in Overwatch 2, ditching the loot boxes of the multiplayer shooter’s predecessor in favor of an in-game cosmetics shop.
During an Overwatch 2 press roundtable, TechRadar Gaming was told that loot boxes won't be appearing in the upcoming game. Instead of blindly opening packs to earn random cosmetic items, players can purchase their content directly.
“As we transition into Overwatch 2, we are going to be sunsetting our loot boxes in favor of a new system that’s an in-game shop,” Overwatch vice president and commercial lead Jon Spector said. “Players can go in and make direct purchases of the cosmetic items that they want.”
However, the game’s approach to microtransactions hasn’t been entirely nailed down. Speaking in the roundtable, Spector said additional details, such as how players can link their Overwatch accounts between platforms to roll forward into the sequel, will be announced down the line.
Game director Aaron Keller, meanwhile, said some specifics are still being worked out behind the scenes. Without a complete picture of how Overwatch 2's free-to-play business model works, he said, it’s difficult to know exactly what the game’s monetization systems will offer. «More than anything,” Keller said, “we just want this to feel fair to players; for it to feel generous to players.”
The removal of loot boxes represents a big change for the Overwatch series. The blind luck packages were once a staple of nearly all competitive multiplayer shooters, and the first Overwatch's in-game monetization system rested solely on them.
But loot boxes have fallen out of fashion among major video game publishers in recent years. Fortnite’s battle royale mode has never included them,
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