A new Reinhardt skin recently made available in Overwatch 2 allows the hero to go into battle wearing cardboard armor, with the skin also featuring some unique design aspects which fit well with the aesthetic. The recent launch of Overwatch 2's 4th season marks the arrival of yet another new season pass, which includes a long list of brand-new cosmetics for players to unlock.
Skins, emotes, voice lines, and most other forms of cosmetic content have always been a major part of Overwatch 2 in the eyes of many fans, and Blizzard is certainly knuckling down on delivering new cosmetics to support the live-service model that the sequel has adopted. While the original game involved randomized loot boxes that could be both purchased and earned through gameplay, Overwatch 2 has replaced this system entirely in favor of a dedicated shop section which features a number of purchasable items and bundles that rotate on weekly basis. This departure from the original game undoubtedly changes the game for cosmetic collectors, though it does allow the game to thrive as a free-to-play title.
It's not a new thing for certain Overwatch 2 skins to affect a hero's sound effects and dialogue, but some fans have pointed out a similar neat quirk in the Cardboard Reinhardt skin. Fittingly, this skin replaces most of the movement sound effects when playing as Reinhardt, replacing the clunky metallic footsteps with hollow, more rustling sounds that really sell the feeling of wearing a suit made out of cardboard boxes. A video featuring these effects and comparing them to the original sounds was compiled and shared in a post from the user pogstream over on Reddit, which quickly gained a lot of attention from the game's community.
As entertaining as such a quirk may be, it seems it hasn't been enough to sell the skin to the masses - which isn't too surprising, considering the Cardboard Reinhardt bundle costs a whole 2000 Overwatch Coins while on offer. That equates to the better part of $20. Needless to say, much of the Overwatch 2 community has been extremely unhappy with the game's shop and its associated prices ever since the sequel released late last year. Collecting every one of the game's skins certainly seems to be a thing of the past now, as the few available methods of earning Overwatch Coins through gameplay only offer very small amounts of the currency.
With little being done by Blizzard to alter the state of cosmetic acquisition in the game, many fans have taken it upon themselves to boycott Overwatch 2 in an attempt to make their concerns properly realized. This sort of action has only become more popular within the game's community since Blizzard announced the cancelation of several key PvE features for Overwatch 2, with the developer claiming that it intends to shift its focuses on further improving the game's live-service aspect instead.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
