YouTuber Stylosa publishes a video offering an in-depth look at Overwatch 2's Season 1 Battle Pass, in-game shop, and progression systems. Overwatch 2's multiplayer half will be launching in less than a week and the sequel is both replacing and reinventing Overwatch with updated gameplay and free-to-play monetization. Some Overwatch fans may be wondering what Overwatch 2's new systems actually look like and what it means players will need to do to earn rewards.
The Overwatch system of leveling is ending and Overwatch 2 will replace it with a Battle Pass system. In the video from Stylosa, it was detailed that players will earn experience to progress through the Battle Pass by completing Challenges, spread between Daily, Weekly, Seasonal, and Lifetime Challenges. Note that Weekly Challenges also reward Overwatch Coins, the game's premium currency. There are also Competitive and Hero Challenges, with the first rewarding a currency that can be spent on Golden Weapons and the second not yet available.
Earning experience through Daily, Weekly, Seasonal, and Lifetime Challenges will progress through that Battle Pass, with Season 1 offering 80 total tiers to unlock. The free-to-play version of Season 1's Battle Pass restricts rewards to just common loot. This includes sprays, voice lines, and the new hero Kiriko at level 55. Buying the premium Battle Pass unlocks Kiriko immediately, plus grants access to rewards, including player icons, weapon charms, name cards, emotes, and more. Skins will be rewarded every 10 tiers, alternating between Epic and Legendary rarity skins.
At tier 80, players will receive the first Mythic Overwatch 2 skin reward. The skin is customizable and has multiple different visual options to choose from. It also has unique voice lines, weapons, and weapon effects. Season 1's Mythic skin is for Genji and is named the Cyber Demon.
The Stylosa video also goes over pricing for Overwatch 2's premium currency, the Overwatch Coin. However, Stylosa is in the United Kingdom, so pricing is in Pound sterling. It's been confirmed elsewhere that Overwatch Coin will be purchasable in the following quantities: 500 for $4.99, 1,000 for $9.99, 2,200 for $19.99, 5,700 for $49.99, and 11,600 for $99.99. Purchasing a Battle Pass tier costs 200 coins, while Legendary skins can range up to 1,900 Overwatch coins.
Free-to-play games are, by their very nature, different experiences than premium games. The original Overwatch was monetized, but Overwatch 2 is an entirely different level of monetization. These new monetization systems are designed to keep players invested, but as Halo Infinite shows, they also can lead to significant backlash. Overwatch 2's Battle Pass is very traditional, so it's unlikely to lead to significant controversy, but that doesn't mean players will be excited about it either. It will be interesting to see how it works out.
Overwatch 2 releases on October 4 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.