'Overwatch 2' Ditches Loot Boxes in Exchange of Battle Pass

Blizzard has officially unveiled that the upcoming "Overwatch 2" is scheduled to launch on Oct. 4. The popular FPS game is expected to land first on the Switch platform.

Along with the new roadmap, the developer says that the highly-anticipated hero shooter sequel will not use Loot Boxes anymore. Instead, it will bring a Battle Pass plus an in-game shop for players who want to look for more items and cosmetics.

'Overwatch 2' Drops Loot Boxes

"Overwatch" players are already hyped with the new PVP system of the game. However, some gamers said that removing the Loot Boxes will hugely change the game's landscape.

The usual Loot Boxes will now be reportedly replaced with a Battle Pass. Blizzard says that the game will feature "cross-progression," which is ideal for users who want to play the game on different consoles.

With cross-progression, you will be allowed to explore all the unlocked content regardless if you're playing on Switch, PC, or PlayStation, per Nintendo Life.

Interestingly, your progress from the original "Overwatch" game will be carried over in this sequel. This is good news, especially for those people who are tired of repeating the whole story one more time.

'Overwatch 2' Roadmap

Speaking of the game's roadmap, Blizzard is planning to introduce Season 1 of "Overwatch 2" in the next four months. Some of the characters that will be gracing the initial debut include Junker Queen and Sojourn. An unrevealed third character is yet to be announced soon.

Moving forward, the company announced in its press release that Season 2 would start on Dec. 9. At that time, a new tank will emerge along with a fresh map.

What's New About 'Overwatch 2' Ranked Games?

In the prequel, players will be rewarded with a plus or minus on the skill rating, depending on the outcome of the game. One can potentially reach 5000 SR given a perfectly-executed set of matches.

If you're unlucky with the ranked matches, the lowest rank that you can hit is Bronze. The highest and the most difficult rank to reach is Grandmaster.

In an interview with Dexerto, Aaron Keller, the game director of "Overwatch 2," said that they would bring a new breath of air to the competitive system of the FPS.

"Players will no longer get one singular SR rating. Each of the tiers in ranked will now have multiple sub-tiers to it," Keller said.

The rework could potentially be inspired by what "League of Legends" did. As of writing, the developer has not clarified what ranks will be added for this part.

Apart from that, players could benefit from the after-action report, which will give them the match details. This alone will help Blizzard to help improve the overall game system.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry