Impressions of Overwatch 2 Show Why The 2023 Lunar New Year Celebration Is Such a Disappointment
The upcoming Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year event, commencing January 24th, 2023, has left many gamers less than satisfied. Many have found it to be inferior to prior Lunar New Year celebrations, with the Year of the Rabbit specifically leaving much to be desired.
Overwatch 2 has maintained the Lunar New Year event, which is about to start off in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit, but some players are expressing their dissatisfaction with the way it is being conducted. This is the most recent in a long series of problems gamers have had with the game since its launch in October 2022, and it will be an arduous task for Overwatch 2 to make it through Season 3.
Posting on Reddit, Strife_3e released an infographic contrasting Lunar New Year festivities from the past to the one in 2023. The data shows that the most recent event is giving out fewer hero skins as part of the ‘Weekly Challenges’ portion of the event, something many players had enjoyed. Despite Blizzard’s assurance of better communication with Overwatch 2, the free-to-play aspect of the game has led to a greater reliance on microtransactions.
Now, gamers need to invest a minimum of $15 for a single skin, or more for a certain package pertaining to the event. The Weekly Rewards system grants players with weapon charms and souvenirs, which are not as desirable as the event skins given out on an individual basis. The skins that can be acquired through weekly rewards are also recycled from old events, rather than being crafted specifically for the Year of the Rabbit event.
When the news of Overwatch 2’s Lunar New Year plans first broke, there was a great deal of anticipation among players. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm has since been dampened due to the ‘Year of the Microtransactions’ event. This has led some to believe that the game is placing too much emphasis on microtransactions, even though it is free-to-play, unlike its predecessor.
It is now possible to acquire Overwatch 2 for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.