Overwatch 2’s new Halloween event has great ideas and bad monetization

This is the first season event Overwatch 2It brings something brand new, a cooperative four-player PvE game mode. This is a preview for the repeatable missions Blizzard will bring to the game next season. But the rest of Halloween Terror 2022 feels like Blizzard holding out its hand, looking to squeeze more money out of players — in a way that sours one of Overwatch’s most beloved holiday-themed events.

The co-op mode, Junkenstein’s Revenge: Wrath of the Bride, is a sequel of sorts to the wave-based horde mode from Halloween Terror’s past, and it’s pretty great. As Ashe, Junker Queen, Kiriko, and Sojourn, players battle their way through the streets of Adlersbrunn, a spooky rework of the game’s Eichenwalde map. Wrath of the Bride unleashes waves of zombie-like bots and enemy Winstons (here in a series of vengeful Gargoyles), Symmetra and Sombra on the four-player group, which is searching for the Lord of the Castle. Wrath of the Bride is worth the effort. There are some light puzzle-solving and jump scares. Echo, who plays the creepy marionettes, makes it worth the time. It’s a promising peek at Overwatch 2’s PvE.

But don’t expect much, if anything, in the way of exciting rewards for Overwatch’s annual take on Halloween. Wrath of the Bride offers XP, voicelines, weapon charms, sprays and other rewards, which is a departure from previous years where you could get dozens of cosmetics. Reaper skins are free for players who participate in the Make-Good Event. Overwatch 2’s rocky launch.

Halloween Terror 2022 also offers the chance to purchase more skins. Overwatch 2 heroes. Two legendary heroes are Witch Kiriko (and Executioner Junker queen), which cost 1,900 and 2,600 credits, respectively. If one wanted to purchase credits in the game shop, that would be about $25 and $19. You could also play the 32 remaining weeks earning 60 credits each week through weekly challenges and hoping that Executioner Junker queen returns next Halloween. (Older Halloween Terror costumes from the original OverwatchThey are also available for purchase, either individually or in bulk.

Unsurprisingly, the prices of those two marquee skins — which, combined, are more than the cost of the original Overwatch on PC — have been met with scorn from many Overwatch players and content creators. A popular sentiment from players on Blizzard’s own Overwatch forums is that Overwatch 2’s style of monetization is “killing my excitement of the game” and that even the paid offerings feel meager. Popular Overwatch streamer Stylosa criticized the game’s pricing scheme on TwitterLater, he rants about skin prices in heated YouTube videos. The game’s subreddit is currently overflowing with anger about Blizzard’s monetization tactics, the Halloween event’s paltry rewards, and the high prices of cosmetics — a source of fury since the game’s free-to-play launch. Blizzard’s latest tweetThe main criticism of this event is the hype.

Whether any of this blowback will alter Blizzard’s plans for future events (or the cost of cosmetics) remains to be seen. With the discussion about expensive skins dominating, Overwatch 2Halloween Terror is a glimpse of the future, but something could eventually change.