Although Overwatch 2 has introduced a complete premium battle pass and item shop, there are still a few ways for players to enjoy the game without spending their hard-earned cash on the game’s new premium paid content. Throughout the lifespan of the original Overwatch experience, players who paid to play the game had many opportunities to earn cosmetic rewards, including through special in-game events, free loot boxes, and outright purchasing them with Overwatch credits. Unfortunately, now that Overwatch 2 has fully replaced the original game, players need to buy coins to purchase all the skins, highlight intros, victory poses, emotes, voice lines, and sprays they want. However, there are still a few ways for players committed to free-to-play to get what they want.
In Overwatch 2, players will get most of their cosmetics either through the new battle pass, which comes with free and premium versions or by directly purchasing gold coins through game storefronts. Gold coins can then be spent in the Item Shop and the Overwatch 2 Hero Gallery on certain cosmetic items. Thankfully, players who’ve spent hundreds of hours in the original game collecting cosmetics in Overwatch will keep everything they’ve bought and earned. In addition, any credits players had from the original game also carry over and can also be spent on certain items.
Although new Overwatch 2 hero Kiriko’s cosmetic grind is long, the game’s playable content, such as modes and maps, is available to all players free of charge. On top of that, players can also earn gold coins from completing in-game challenges, purchase items using their leftover credits from Overwatch, and grab a few free items from Overwatch 2’s free battle pass.
How To Earn Coins & Play Overwatch 2 For Free
Although players can access all of Overwatch 2’s playable content without paying, cosmetics undoubtedly enrich the experience and give players a chance to style their favorite heroes the way they want. To get as much free content as possible, players should focus on completing their in-game challenges. With Overwatch 2 Double XP weekends coming soon, weekly challenges are particularly important as these offer 5,000 Battle Pass XP each when completed. As it takes 10,000XP to level up a tier in the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass, these challenges are useful as players can grab some new cosmetic items for their characters in the free battle pass track.
Players who complete 4, 8, and 11 weekly challenges each week will also earn 30, 20, and 10 coins, for a total of 60 coins a week. 60 coins aren’t much, significantly, since a single premium skin can cost nearly 2,000 coins. Unfortunately, this is currently the only way players can get coins for free, and unfortunately, Overwatch 2 isn’t particularly friendly to players who aren’t spending. Luckily, players of the original Overwatch can still spend their credits on cosmetics, including cosmetics for new heroes such as Overwatch's new support healer Kiriko, Junker Queen, and Sojourn. However, as there doesn’t appear to be a way to earn more credits, players should be careful about spending them.
Players who aren’t looking to spend money will have a particularly arduous grind ahead of them. Overwatch 2’s new business model has proven controversial, and without a significant shakeup, players who don’t want to spend money will have a rough time. While there isn’t anything stopping players from jumping into Overwatch 2’s many modes with their friends without paying, being limited to stock cosmetics is sure to reduce their enthusiasm for the game.
Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
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Overwatch 2
- Developer:
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Franchise:
- Overwatch
- Genre:
- First-Person Shooter
- Platform:
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
- Publisher:
- Blizzard Entertainment
- ESRB:
- T
- Released:
- 2022-10-04
- Multiplayer:
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Summary:
- Overwatch 2 is the sequel to the Blizzard team-based PVP shooter released in 2016. Overwatch 2 will completely supplant the original entry, shuttering the prior title in favor of 2. This sequel reduces team sizes to five instead of six. Players will choose from one of thirty playable heroes and pick from one of three classes: damage, support, and tanks. PVP remains the core focus; however, Overwatch 2 now has a stronger emphasis on cooperative play with the addition of PvE modes - four-player cooperative excursions where players will take on different tasks against AI opponents. Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game and will offer a battle pass option like others of its genre instead of its prior loot box system, allowing players to earn cosmetics and more each season.
- How Long To Beat:
- 80-100 hours
- Prequel:
- Overwatch
