Blizzard Plans to Lock Heroes Behind Overwatch Battle Pass

Just when everyone was thinking that Blizzard was finally being good for a couple of weeks, they are at it again with their incredibly disrespectful monetization. However, this time, instead of Diablo: Immortal, which probably everyone is familiar with already, the story is about Overwatch 2.

What is going on?

We all knew that Overwatch 2 was going to be free from the grasp of loot boxes and that it would be taking a Battle Pass system. However, while we were told that everything is going to be for cosmetic purposes only, Blizzard seems to have had a wild thought to turn their FPS into a P2W game.

Yes, you read that correctly. Just a month before the release of Overwatch 2, they announced that Battle Passes would have new heroes locked behind them. Without a doubt, this will be a horrible look for Overwatch esports, as people usually tend to stay away from P2W games. Of course, the pay-to-win mechanics are not as big as in some other games, but in a first-person shooter where swapping heroes on the fly matters, it certainly has an impact.

Image Credits | Polygon

Is this really that big of a deal?

Many had an argument that other games like League of Legends, or an even better example, Apex Legends, also have heroes locked behind some kind of grind or a payment. However, in those games, you pick your hero before the game begins, and once you lock your hero in, that’s it. In Overwatch, it is all about swapping heroes to counter the enemy comp and surprise them.

If you are planning to grind through Overwatch ranking, it won’t matter if you are using the best Overwatch 2 settings, it will not matter if you are amazing, if you do not have the hero because you did not spend money on the game, you will be at a disadvantage.

While Blizzard might make a change where these new heroes are not available in ranked right away, it will still give a chance to those with heroes before they are enabled to get a lot of practice compared to those who did not invest in the game.

Blizzard needs to put out the fire!

We all know that the company has been doing quite a lot of things that the player base was not fond of, but this is probably the straw that will break the camel’s back and be what many believe, the downfall of Overwatch 2 before it was even released. Wake up, Blizzard!