It's Clear Why Fans Are In A Frenzy Over Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland

The holiday season is upon us. There are jingles echoing through every store and competitive video games are releasing their snowy seasonal content. "Overwatch 2" launched its 2022 Winter Wonderland Event on December 13, bringing four winter-themed arcade modes: Mei's Snowball Offensive, Snowball Deathmatch, Yeti Hunter, and Freesethaw Elimination. While playing these modes, gamers will be able to unlock, "weapon charms, player icons, sprays, and more—including the Ice Queen Epic Brigitte skin." It seems that not everyone is satisfied with these additions, however.

"Overwatch 2" has already courted a fair bit of controversy since it launched in October, but a couple of the worst changes fans have been upset over is the way Blizzard has locked some heroes behind an expensive battle pass and hiked up the prices it charges for certain skins. In the past, while players could purchase some special skins could, they could also unlock them in the game by earning loot boxes. Getting rid of loot boxes might have initially seemed like the right move, but this new system has many fans wondering if the game was actually better when it still had them. This is especially apparent in the Winter Wonderland event where the new seasonal Genji and Ramattra skins can only be unlocked in the game store.

For many fans, the opportunity to "grind for [loot boxes]" with the hope of unlocking special skins was the reason they got excited for seasonal events. They'd dive in, play as much as they could during the brief window, and if they got lucky, they'd walk away with a special skin commemorating their success. It seems that the prospect of simply buying these skins doesn't hold the same appeal.

Reddit user NightRemntOfTheNorth made a post expressing their disappointment in the new system. "The new event skins and the new [Genji] and [Ramattra] skins got me excited as all hell, that was until I realized I can't and I won't unlock them without spending [$100+]." The poster went on to explain this made engaging in the event "feel pointless," as the arcade modes felt recycled and the only way to earn skins was to buy them. "Before the draw of the events was to grind for lootboxes or coins to get the new skins, now it's that I get to play the winter brawls?"

Dozens of fans also feeling the burn from "Overwatch 2" jumped into the comments to agree with NightRemntOfTheNorth. One wrote, "My friend group and I were always excited for the winter events ... We'd always look at the new skins and get excited, wonder what kind of new stuff there would be this year, the free lootboxes you'd get ... All of that is gone."