Now that Overwatch 2 is live, players have a solid grasp on just how long it will take them to earn cosmetics–and they are not happy with what they see. The slow income of Overwatch 2 Coins free-to-play players can earn means they will have to save up for months if they wish to earn a single Legendary skin.
Overwatch 2 uses Overwatch Coins as its new digital currency, which is used to purchase cosmetics in the game. Overwatch Coins can be purchased with real money, or they can be earned by completing Weekly Challenges.
However, when Overwatch 2 players opened the game, they were dismayed to see how absurdly difficult it was to earn Overwatch Coins without spending money. Players can earn a cumulative total of 60 Overwatch Coins each week by completing challenges. To put that number into perspective, a Rare Overwatch 2 skin costs 300 coins, meaning players would have to save up for over a month to buy even the most simple of skins. With Legendary skins costing 1900 Overwatch Coins, players will have to complete all of their Weekly Challenges for eight whole months to unlock a single skin.
100 Overwatch Coins are a $1 value, though players who buy $20 or more get some bonus coins as well. With only 60 cents worth of coins available for free each week, spending money is the only reliable way to earn cosmetics in Overwatch 2. Players can also unlock certain cosmetics via the Battle Pass in Overwatch 2, but at a 1000 Overwatch Coin cost, players would have to grind Weekly Challenges for over four months to get the Premium Battle Pass without spending $10.
Many players are unhappy with Overwatch 2’s Free-to-Play business model. While Overwatch Coins are mostly for cosmetics, unlocking heroes from past Battle Passes will be done via Overwatch Coins in the future, meaning Overwatch 2 is already relying on FOMO–the fear of missing out–to fuel its microtransaction system. The slow trickle of Overwatch Coins combined with the massive price hike for buying cosmetics makes Overwatch 1’s unpopular loot box system look more attractive in retrospect.
Overwatch 2 has gotten off to a rocky start. Between multiple DDoS attacks, criticism of the system for unlocking Overwatch heroes, and the Battle Pass, the nearly-nonexistent opportunities for earning Overwatch Coins without spending money are just icing on the cake. If Overwatch 2 is going to remain successful, it will need to do something to make it more accessible for free-to-play players.
Overwatch 2 is free-to-play for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
