With how highly controversial loot boxes have become amongst the gaming community and within Blizzard’s popular game Overwatch, the gaming company has finally given a definitive date to when their loot boxes will be phased out. Early August 9, 2022, Blizzard posted blog post revolving around the Overwatch Anniversary Remix VoL.3 event going live. This celebratory event gives players the opportunity to access game modes, missions from past seasons, and special loot boxes containing items from past events like skins and gear, but with an “exclusive twist.”
These special loot boxes will last the entirety of the event, becoming unavailable on August 30, 2022, when loot boxes will no longer be available to purchase. Loot boxes have been a problem plaguing the video game community, keeping players from enjoying games due to the enormous amount of money spent by players on them. Blizzard has been one of the main companies facing criticism towards their monetization practices, but with the advent of Overwatch 2, the developers have made efforts to distance themselves from it.
In their previous announcement discussing all the new improvements coming to the game, the developers detailed their goals for how they would treat players going forward. Fostering community within the game, making it as accessible as possible, and giving players room to experience the game how they want it. That means replacing loot boxes with their new battle passes.
While the standard loot boxes will still be available to earn after the anniversary event, all loot boxes will officially end come the game’s launch in October. The fine details of how the developers are going to tackle skins and gear are still up in the air. The battle pass system is still a large unknown, and Blizzard has stated that fans will have to wait for Overwatch 2’s release on October 4 to get the full details.