In just an hour, Xbox managed to pack just over 25 announcements into its recent showcase, the vast majority of which revolved around Microsoft's own first-party studios. The Xbox Showcase had it all, from huge, long-awaited titles like Fable and Avowed, to some smaller but equally exciting titles like 33 Immortals and Jusant. But one thing many fans weren't expecting to see during the Xbox Showcase was Overwatch 2.
Towards the end of the Xbox Showcase, sandwiched in between Forza Motorsport and Persona 5 Tactica, Overwatch 2 made a brief appearance. Over the course of about two minutes, the Overwatch 2 trailer managed to clearly break down a slew of new content heading to the game in August, from a brand new PvP mode, to new training challenges, to the first real look at the long-awaited, recently-revamped story missions. But the most intriguing part of Overwatch 2's recent trailer came right at the end, when it was announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers would have exclusive access to a new Hero pack, potentially being a sign of what's about to come.
Overwatch 2's Xbox Game Pass Integration Could Be a Sign of Things to Come
One of the most controversial aspects of Overwatch 2 -- and there are a good few -- is its live-service model. While Overwatch 2's live-service approach does allow the game to get updated consistently with new content, not all of that content is completely free. Every new Season brings with it a new Overwatch 2 playable Hero, and if fans want to play as them, they need to drop the cash for the Battle Pass. But Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers are about to get an incredible deal.
Announced right at the end of Overwatch 2's Xbox Showcase trailer, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to claim a "New Heroes Starter Pack" on August 10, the same day that the new Overwatch 2 Season drops. This New Heroes Starter Pack will give subscribers complete access to all five of the game's brand-new Heroes, including Sojourn, Kiriko, Junker Queen, Lifeweaver, and Ramattra. Players will also gain access to the newly teased Support Hero that's set to join the fight on August 10. As if that wasn't enough, the New Heroes Starter Pack will also apparently give players some legendary skins and a handful of other in-game cosmetics, all included with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
To gain permanent access to all of Overwatch 2's new Heroes without an extended grind, players would have needed to purchase the Premium Battle Pass on three separate occasions: for Kiriko, Ramattra, and Lifeweaver. At the bare minimum, this means that players will have needed to spend $30 on Overwatch 2 already, with another $10 about come out for the next Season's Support Hero. So, by all accounts, this Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offer is really something special, essentially saving players over $40, as long as they haven't already spent the money. This could just be the tip of the iceberg for these types of offers.
Though the Microsoft-Activision/Blizzard acquisition has run into some hurdles over in the UK, the rest of the world seems to be generally okay with the deal, and gradually, the acquisition does seem to be going through. If everything works out for Xbox, then it seems likely that Xbox Game Pass subscribers can expect to see more deals like this Overwatch 2 one in the future, encouraging players to both play the newly acquired Activision/Blizzard games, and continue to subscribe to Game Pass.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
