Highlights
- Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland event needs to impress this year after a lackluster performance in 2022.
- Last year's event was criticized for not offering enough content and rehashing old game modes.
- Recent events, like Halloween Terror and LE SSERAFIM, have set a high bar with engaging modes and cosmetics, raising expectations for Winter Wonderland 2023.
As a live-service multiplayer title, Overwatch 2 is defined by its periodical in-game events, with a lot of attention always being placed on things like Seasons which introduce new maps, game modes, and battle pass unlocks for the release. Away from the rigid structuring of Seasons, the game also often implements holiday-themed events that tackle things like Halloween, Christmas, and even Lunar New Year.
Around December, Overwatch 2 usually introduces a fresh take on its Winter Wonderland event, which predictably has a huge thematic focus on all things cold and Christmas-themed. While being a fun break from usual Overwatch 2 gameplay, Winter Wonderland was lackluster last year, and the recent success of other holiday events for the game means that Blizzard may have to dial things up a bit for this year's take on Winter Wonderland.
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Overwatch 2: 2023's Winter Wonderland Needs to Impress
Winter Wonderland is one of the most longstanding holiday events throughout Overwatch as a franchise, first appearing in the first game's launch year of 2016. The event has gone on to make consistent annual appearances ever since, with this year's take on the mode being its seventh appearance.
Like other in-game events, Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland usually involves limited-time game modes, themed cosmetics, and challenges, offering an engaging period of play over the course of its roughly month-long tenure. Last year's Winter Wonderland event was not very well received, however, with a lot of fans criticizing it for not offering enough content and simply rehashing old game modes that players were already familiar with. In all, 2022's Winter Wonderland event included the following content:
- Mei's Snowball Offensive game mode
- Yeti Hunter game mode
- Freezethaw Elimination game mode
- Two brand-new themed skins, as well as older returning cosmetics
- Nine challenges tied to Winter Wonderland game modes
While this may seem like a fair amount of total content for a month-long event, the only new content that 2022's Winter Wonderland offered was three new skins and nine challenges. These challenges allowed players to unlock the at-the-time new Ice Queen Brigitte skin for free, with this being the only real positive that Winter Wonderland offered last year.
Recent Events Have Set a High Bar For 2023's Winter Wonderland
These past criticisms have only been amplified by the much-better run of holiday events that Overwatch 2 has recently experienced. For example, the title recently held its Halloween Terror event, which smartly tied into a sinister in-game season that made the event feel much more impactful and purposeful. Halloween Terror put forward 21 challenges and returning game modes, with the Trials of Sanctuary season offering some great Diablo-themed modes and cosmetics to supplement the event.
More recently, Overwatch 2 held its LE SSERAFIM event. This simple limited-time collaboration with a popular K-Pop group introduced five cosmetic bundles for specific Overwatch 2 heroes as well as the engaging Concert Clash game mode, setting a high bar for future events within the title. This is something that this year's Winter Wonderland will likely take into account, with the event already needing to build on its disappointing presence last year.
It is likely that this year's Winter Wonderland event for Overwatch 2 will still bring back the likes of Yeti Hunter, Mei's Snowball Offensive, and Threezethaw Elimination, but fans should also expect a brand-new mode if Blizzard plays its cards right. Like last year, Winter Wonderland will most probably involve a spate of new themed skins, and would be smart to offer a significant increase to the three skins that appeared in 2022.
While no concrete date has been confirmed yet, Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland is expected to launch in mid-December, lasting until early January. While the same old content should be expected, fans should also have hope that this year's Winter Wonderland will offer a lot more unique modes and cosmetics, moving the event away from past criticisms.
