Fans of Overwatch 2 have never been particularly pleased with the cosmetic prices found in the game's shop, and some players have noticed that those who have been earning Overwatch Coins exclusively from weekly challenges only now have enough to purchase a single legendary skin. The team behind Overwatch 2 recently announced its plans to cut crucial PvE content in order to further the game's live service aspect, though this same monetization method has made cosmetics hard to come by.Overwatch 2 has been a free-to-play, live-service title since it launched back in October, as opposed to its predecessor which was a one-time purchase offering optional loot boxes via microtransactions. While its status as a free-to-play game has undoubtedly attracted plenty of new Overwatch 2 fans since the game released, some of the most significant complaints regarding the sequel criticize the prices of cosmetics in the game's shop. Many of the available legendary bundles go for up to 2000 Overwatch Coins each, or around $20 in real money. Though loot boxes could be earned for free in the original Overwatch, their absence in the sequel leaves fans few options in obtaining skins outside simply paying up.Small quantities of Overwatch Coins have been obtainable for free via weekly challenges since Overwatch 2 came out, however, though the amounts earned through this process are extremely thin. So thin, in fact, that Overwatch 2 players have discovered that those relying on this method to obtain Overwatch Coins will only now have collected enough to buy a single legendary bundle in the game's shop if they've completed every weekly challenge since launch - a whole eight months after the game's release. This rather surprising realization was shared by the user @Proto_VI on Twitter, and rapidly gathered the community's attention across social media shortly afterward.
Skin prices in Overwatch 2 have been met with constant complaints since the game first came out, though little has been done by Blizzard to reduce these prices or make cosmetics more accessible to players through other means. Fans have long provided their own suggestions of how weekly challenges could be made more rewarding by the developers, as collecting skins was a crucial part of the original Overwatch in the eyes of many players. While the credits offered in the recent battle passes were a small step forward, players are still earning skins at a far slower rate than they did in the original game.
Live-service models have become increasingly popular in recent years, though the model's impact on Overwatch 2 has had quite a range of implications for the game. It's dedication to regular content drops has afforded Overwatch 2 plenty of new characters, skins, and game modes since its release, with much more future content recently hinted at in a new roadmap for the game. These developments have apparently come at the cost of Overwatch 2's intricate PvE content though, with game director Aaron Keller recently revealing Hero Mode and character talents to be scrapped altogether.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
