Blizzard locks Overwatch 2’s most desirable new skins behind a big paywall - and the fans aren’t having it
Nickel and dimed
It’s been a tough year for fans of Blizzard’s beleaguered hero shooter, Overwatch 2. Released last October as a full-scale replacement for the original Overwatch, many fans have been frustrated by the game’s costly microtransactions (which, at this point, honestly seem more like “macrotransactions”).
Now, Blizzard has hiked up the price of their Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle just in time for the arrival of two desirable Diablo crossover skins, leaving the community up in arms.
For those unfamiliar, the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle was a $29.99 add-on for Overwatch 2 that granted access to the current season’s Battle Pass, 20 Battle Pass tier skips, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a handful of exclusive skins.
However, this changed with the arrival of Season 6, which saw its price increase to $39.99 alongside the addition of the short Invasion PVE story campaign to the package. This $39.99 price tag has now persisted into the current Season 7, which, importantly, does not contain any new PVE content.
Buying this $39.99 bundle is also the only way to obtain two of the season’s most anticipated skins, Lilith Moira and Inarius Pharah - based on popular characters from Diablo 4.
Many players have taken to social media to express their disappointment at the move.
Reddit user kid-karma urges fans to "remember how little they think of you when these are the prices they think you'll pay".
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"They will keep charging more and more for less and less until people stop giving them money", adds rock_flag_n_eagle.
There has been a similar reaction over on Twitter, with user @murlocprincess impressed by the new crossover skins but lamenting that "at this point, I know that the ones I want will be paywalled".
If you want something else to play, check out our list of the best FPS games or the best free games.
Dash is a technology journalist who covers gaming hardware at TechRadar. Before joining the TechRadar team, he was writing gaming articles for some of the UK's biggest magazines including PLAY, Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX. Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.