With the first official weekend in summer here, esports has been taking off by leaps and bounds, especially with word of a brand-new first-person shooter. It has been on people’s minds for a long time now and the team behind it has made some shocking announcements.
#Overwatch2 arrives October 4, ushering in a new era for the franchise as a free-to-play live service game!
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 16, 2022
Learn more about the game and our commitment to deliver frequent seasonal content updates that expand the game to ensure there’s always something new to play. pic.twitter.com/tAzPPtvcP0
It all happened at the 2022 Summer Games Festival which took place earlier this month on June 9th. In which we received massive news for Esports with the announcements for Overwatch 2 and Street Fighter 6. Both are highly anticipated games, but that’s not all we know as of right now that Street Fighter 6 will be coming in 2023, while the FPS game Overwatch 2 will be releasing this October.
This is huge news for the Overwatch gaming community as new features, characters, and more importantly new Esport matches. One of these major announcements is that loot boxes will be a thing of the past and in its place will be a battle pass in the game store.
For those who don’t know what a loot box is or why it has become a major problem in the gaming community, it’s simple. Loot boxes are the gaming equivalent to gambling. You pay money for a box that has a chance of giving you rare and sometimes valuable loot, though the percentage chance for rare items is oftentimes low at best.
Welcome to the apocalypse.
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 21, 2022
See Junker Queen swing her axe and rampage the battlefield!
Rush into the action with Junker Queen, playable in the #Overwatch2 Beta on June 28. pic.twitter.com/SkvOEqr34u
Recent triple-A games have made loot boxes a common feature, but now Overwatch 2 is moving on to having a regular store as well as a Battle pass which players normally pay to unlock items. How is this different? Well for starters with a store you know exactly what you’re getting and won’t waste hundreds trying to get it. Already making it a massive win.
Overall, I’m excited to see what the team over at Blizzard has in store for us with this one as Overwatch was a fairly popular game. So with the new one coming out you know, we’ll be seeing some of those top FPS Esport teams fighting it out with new maps and mechanics.
Until then check out Episodes of the Stay Connected Podcast where we go more in-depth on all your favorite Esports connect.