Overwatch 2 Is Already Making Some Weird Mistakes With Its Battle Pass

thegamer.com:

Overwatch 2 being a free-to-play live-service is the right call. Since the original game launched in 2016, we’ve seen games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Genshin Impact, Warframe, and myriad others emerge and redefine what it means to progress in a multiplayer landscape. Battle passes are a thing now, while the loot boxes that Blizzard once helped bring into the mainstream are frowned upon outside the freemium mobile space.

But with the release of Overwatch 2 and its debut season less than two weeks away, we now have a concrete picture of how the experience will play out, as well as how much it differs from what came before. This isn’t a premium product anymore, but instead a free game that anyone can download, jump into, and have a reasonably good time without spending a penny. There’s a free version of the battle pass too, albeit with far fewer rewards and a focus on grinding things out over a prolonged period of time, but it’s there, and that kinda rules.

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On the surface, the game is making all the right decisions. Both versions of the battle pass are packed with skins, sprays, charms, and a variety of content that outweighs anything its predecessor had in its first few months. Seasonal events are established, and an existing roster of heroes we’ve already fallen in love with have a generous roster of cosmetics and lore to build upon. I’m already invested, and for Blizzard that is half the battle right now.

But for those not planning to pick up the premium battle pass or aren’t already cemented in the Overwatch ecosystem, some new heroes are locked behind progression in ways that actively discourages the experimentation this game is all about.