Overwatch 2's Halloween Cosmetic Prices Have Fans Heated

The highly anticipated multiplayer shooter "Overwatch 2" has been out for a while now, but things aren't going quite as smoothly as Activision Blizzard might have hoped. Recently, bugs forced the removal of certain heroes from "Overwatch 2," while other glitches remain unfixed. "Overwatch 2" only recently stopped forcing players to link their account to a phone number — barring many from the game — but these are far from the only issues longtime fans have with the sequel. 

"Overwatch 2" has been mainly criticized for its free-to-play model and for having heroes locked behind the premium Battle Pass. The original "Overwatch" was a paid game with free unlockable cosmetics and heroes. Now, the sequel is a free game with paid unlockables and heroes — and they're not cheap.

With the launch of its Halloween Terror event on Oct. 25, 2022, some fans expected "Overwatch 2" to offer themed skins that can be unlocked without spending money, as it has done in the past. Instead, it appears Activision Blizzard has only made Halloween skins available for purchase in its cosmetics shop — a move that particularly outraged fans, even among the other major changes made in "Overwatch 2."

There are a handful of unique event skins on offer during the Halloween Terror event, but few of them can be purchased individually. In the in-game store, players can head to the Shop tab to see the bundles and other Halloween cosmetics. The Kiriko Witch bundle costs 2600 Overwatch Coins, which is allegedly 29% off the total of 3660 Overwatch Coins when all five items are purchased individually. According to the description on each bundle, these prices were calculated by adding together the cost of similar items on sale — and some fans don't believe the skins are actually worth what Blizzard claims. 

Some fans pointed out that re-used "Overwatch" skins in the Defenders Of the Castle bundle cost almost as much as the original game itself. For 4400 Overwatch Coins — about $44 in real money — players get four Halloween variant skins that were also used in the first game. It's a lot of money for fans to spend on cosmetics, especially when players are used to the free event skins and loot crate rewards from the first game. 

There is no way to buy a single item from the hero Halloween bundles, though. If a player wants just a skin or an intro animation, they must buy the entire pack for the full, potentially inflated price. It's worth noting that "Overwatch 2" players can unlock two free Halloween skins for watching stream partners, but two free skins don't necessarily cancel out the shop skins that many perceive as overpriced.