Correct. Free-to-play with optional battle passes, cosmetics, etc.
Edit: I should make my objection clear. I’m used to stuff like CoD or BF2042 where the new characters are set a lot earlier in the free track. Making people grind 55 out of 80 levels sounds bad. I think about all that time premium players will be going HAM on free players.
I play pretty casually, like one or two matches of any MP game a day, and I don’t play every day consistently. That usually means I progress one or maybe two tiers a day, ending up somewhere around tier 50-60 by the end of a typical 9-week season.
This is why I refuse to pay for any battle pass at all. I don’t come anywhere close to finishing these tracks, so some of my money would basically be a donation. Screw that noise.
So, were I to play Overwatch 2, it’s not at all a guarantee that I’d even get to unlock the free track hero. Instead, the whole season would be me getting hammered by everyone else.
When asked about why Blizzard is putting heroes in the battle pass in the first place, Overwatch general manager Walter Kong said, “Well, heroes are the single most engaging content that we have in the game. And as we designed this model, it seemed to be a very strong fit to put those heroes into our new engagement systems.”
“We know players want them, so we’re going to make them grind like crazy or pay.”
Yeah, it’s your game so do what you want with it but don’t be a dishonest asshole. “Because we think we can make the most money this way.” is the answer to every question about the design.
I’m at the point where I want a refund for whatever I payed for OW1. I didn’t purchase a game with heroes locked behind a battlepass, I bought it because it was the one without that stuff.
I’m being hyperbolic because I don’t even play OW right now, and I got my $20 worth out of it. But this is still a bait and switch maneuver. At least I don’t have to worry about ever playing it again.
Level 55 is insane. Someone on reddit mentioned that seasons are 9 weeks, so that’s how long it “should” take you to reach lvl 80 - and level 55 is a full 70% of that. 6 weeks to unlock a hero? And that is probably with significantly more time than I’d ever play. Hahahah, yeah no.
Shame that Diablo IV is going to suck cause of NuBliz™.
Started with 21 and now has 32. I’ll spot one more to make the math even, that puts them at new character every six months, not nine weeks. But hey, as long as they are getting paid to add content I’m sure they’ll be able to step it up.
We want FTUE to welcome players more gradually to Overwatch 2, as we’ve seen consistent feedback from new players feeling overwhelmed by numerous game modes and heroes. New players begin with access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and some other restrictions to onboard them more gradually. The first phase of our new FTUE rapidly unlocks all the game modes and the ability to chat in-game, and the second phase unlocks all the original Overwatch heroes over the course of approximately 100 matches.
Hahahaha.
We are removing player levels in-game, so instead of having to reach a certain level, new players are now challenged to win 50 Quick Play matches before Competitive unlocks.
Not just play 50 matches. Win them.
While this process helps new players join the fun, it’s also an effective way to discourage disruptive behavior and cheating. FTUE is an investment to complete because it takes time to unlock game features— Competitive, specifically, cannot be accessed without winning matches.
Instead of earning free loot boxes over time and being rewarded for just playing the game, you can pay for a battlepass now! And grind to unlock heroes (or skip with the previously mentioned paid battlepass)! If you had a dedicated team of 6, you can now tell one of them to buzz off! I’d make a joke about more monetization in “Two Weeks” (or Soon™), but this might be the first time you’ve ever seen that target hit.
