While Overwatch 2 makes some massive changes to the gameplay loop of the hero shooter that include a switch to 5v5 and a new core game mode called Push, one of the small-but-meaningful additions was fresh looks for every single character. Designed to show the passage of time, every hero on the roster that is returning from the original Overwatch gets a flashy new outfit and some changes to their aesthetic, ranging from a different color scheme for Baptiste to a mohawk for Roadhog. Next year, the Overwatch League should acknowledge these designs.
These new looks in Overwatch 2, for the most part, have been received well by the community. While a few of the designs have failed to catch on, a majority are seen as an improvement by the player base, with a lot of gamers choosing to equip the Classic 2 outfits over the default Classic look. With these modern attires being such a hit with fans, it only makes sense for Blizzard to create another batch of Overwatch League skins that make use of them.
Overwatch League’s Team Skins Are Outdated
For those unfamiliar with the Overwatch League skins, they are essentially just recolors of each hero’s basic look. However, with team logos, color schemes, and names placed all over each skin, they have a good bit more detail than the usual recolor. To get these skins, players need to purchase Overwatch League Tokens or earn them through watching competitive games. Once acquired, they can buy any skin of their choosing from their favorite team’s store.
With hundreds of skins in the Overwatch League shop, gamers can easily represent their favorite team regardless of the hero that they like to play. However, the skins available in the OWL shop are based entirely around the Classic designs from the first Overwatch. Despite Blizzard putting in so much effort to make new looks for every single character, players determined to represent the London Spitfire or Dallas Fuel will be stuck wearing outfits that do not make use of the updated character designs.
This extends to the actual Overwatch League matches as well, as the use of old skins made the first Overwatch 2-focused season of OWL feel a bit less new. While characters introduced in the sequel like Sojourn and Kiriko served as a reminder that the pros were playing a new version of Overwatch, as did the 5v5 format and the presence of Push, seeing Overwatch 1 looks for the characters stopped things from feeling fully new. With Lucio's new design also making it easier to read the action for viewers and players alike, it would be particularly great to see some new team skins for the musical Support hero.
For the millions of new Overwatch 2 players, the fresh looks for all the heroes could feel more familiar than the old ones, and they could want to see them represented in OWL matches. Further, since so many gamers enjoy the newer designs, adding team skins to the shop that are based on them could be a profitable endeavor for Blizzard. While creating hundreds of new team skins would undoubtedly take some effort, having a fresh Philadelphia Fusion skin for every character could motivate fans of that team to get more OWL tokens. This would lead to more people watching the streams or buying tokens, which is a win for Blizzard either way.
To make the second Overwatch 2 season of OWL feel more like Overwatch 2, Blizzard should craft more League skins based on the Classic 2 looks. This could give players a bit more variety when trying to represent their favorite team, as they would have two team skins to choose from and switch between. Further, it would go a long way to making OWL Tokens more valuable, as having more skins to choose from could get more players invested in the Overwatch League. Hopefully, Blizzard provides some OWL recolors for the heroes’ new looks when the 2023 season begins.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.