Those dastardly loot boxes containing randomized goodies might be a thing of the past come Overwatch 2‘s launch later this year, but a recent survey suggests the hero shooter’s monetization may become more aggressive elsewhere.
apparently, Overwatch 2’s in-game store might charge you up to $US45 ($AU64) for an individual skin–or at least, Blizzard appears to be testing the idea. Recently, Twitter user porter gauge uploaded screenshots from a survey their friend received from Overwatch asking them how much money they’d be willing to pay for skins and other rewards in Overwatch 2. The survey asked players whether they were “very likely,” “somewhat likely,” “neither likely or unlikely,” “somewhat unlikely,” or “very unlikely” to be inclined to purchase new rewards in the game.
Image: Blizzard
The asking prices in the survey are as follows:
- Mythic Skin–$US44.99 ($AU64)
- Legendary Skin Bundle (including weapon charm, player icon, victory pose, voice line, name card, and spray)–$US29.99 ($AU42)
- Legendary Skin–$US24.99 ($AU35)
- Emote Highlight Intro Souvenir–$US19.99 ($AU28)
- Weapon Char– $US9.99 ($AU14)
- 3 Spray Bundle–$US4.99 ($AU7)
Oof, friend of mine got an Overwatch survey for his account, some of these prices they’re gauging for OW2 are really expensive.
I hope this is just him getting one of the higher price surveys and not an indication that they’re leaning towards this much monetization. pic.twitter.com/RWr7LbwkLB
— Portergauge 🏳️🌈 (@Portergauge) July 30, 2022
“This survey is entirely intended to better understand player preferences for different types of Overwatch 2 cosmetics,” an Overwatch spokesperson told Kotaku via email. “Prices displayed in the survey were randomized per user and are not indicative of final pricing. We plan to share details on our Shop and Battle Pass system closer to our Oct. 4 launch.”
Since the survey emails were sent out, its asking prices haven’t gone over well with players.
“Yo, I’d literally at any price would prefer buying Overwatch 2 instead of it being free to play with money grabs everywhere,” one Twitter user said.
“And here I thought I was already getting gouged in halo-infinite lmao,” another Twitter user said.
“I know some people [are] going to defend the prices and say ‘Don’t buy etc it is[ a free to play] game,’” a Reddit user said. “People like you who choose to defend this crap is why the gaming industry [is] going into [an] abyss.”
ReadMore: Overwatch 2 Will Replace The Original, Making It Unplayable In October
Image: Blizzard
During the Overwatch 2 “reveal event” –which detailed the game’s seasonal roadmap and featured a cinematic trailer for its newest tank character, Junker Queen–the Overwatch team clarified that Overwatch 2 won’t have any loot boxes. The event teased that a battle pass and an in-game store is coming to the game.
Back in the old Overwatch days, players unlocked skins, emotes, voice lines, and sprays by leveling up and unlocking loot boxes. If players wanted to unlock a specific skin, like say the Totally ’80s Zarya skin (her only good one), they would either have to accumulate enough in-game coin from receiving duplicate items in loot boxes to unlock the skin from her character gallery or run the gamut of purchasing a bunch of loot boxes in hopes that the skin would be among their spoils. Overwatch also has a dedicated in-game store where players can purchase loot boxes with real currency. In comparison to Overwatch 2‘s asking price for one mythic skin, buying 50 loot boxes cost players $US39.99 ($56), exactly five dollars less.
Chances are the prices of Overwatch 2 skins in the survey won’t be the final price come the game’s release later this year and that it was the Overwatch team’s way to gauge how much players are willing to spend on cosmetic items. However, it’s not a good indication when a game is asking you to cough up the same amount of money for a full-game for a single skin.
Overwatch 2 is scheduled to release on October 4.