Overwatch 2 becomes free to play with hated revenue model

Overwatch 2 will be free to play but it will cost the player something else to get the most out of the game: time. And that might be even worse.

Blizzard announced earlier this week that Overwatch 2 will be released in early October and will be completely free. Of course, a developer has to earn money from his product, but the revenue model of Overwatch 2? Probably nobody wants that anymore. After all, every other free game already does it.

Overwatch 2: free to play and black hole

So, Overwatch 2 will be free for everyone and that may cost you money in some other way. It is a big step away from the revenue model of the first Overwatch; anyone could buy that game for roughly $40 and play it indefinitely. Gamers could get any additional cosmetic items through in-game loot boxes. A nice system that kept it fair for everyone. But did you want more? Then you could play extra for loot boxes (or buy them with real money).

In Overwatch 2, Blizzard switches to a battle pass with free to play. You know, those damn things you have to buy every few months. You are not buying actual content. Just the in-game ability to spend an awful lot of time gaming to complete a trajectory of rewards.

Battle passes increase the pressure and you see that with competitors such as Warzone and Apex Legends. You must play every season or you will miss out on rewards. And you have to keep playing after you buy a battle pass, because it will expire soon.

It quickly feels like the player doesn’t just have to pay with money to get in-game content. Time also turns out to be an investment that you have to make. Battle passes are undoubtedly very lucrative; all free to play games do. But if one thing is certain, it is that it always costs too much for the gamer. And then the price of the BP hasn’t even been announced yet.

Overwatch 2 will be released on October 4 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch and is therefore free to play.