Overwatch 2 dev responds to backlash over Winter Wonderland rewards

Overwatch 2 released the Winter Wonderland event on December 19, and the reactions from fans about the rewards have been mostly negative. A dev has responded to some of these reactions, explaining the decision behind the rewards.

The Overwatch 2 Winter Wonderland event gives fans the opportunity to receive special skins and other cosmetics designed with the holiday season in mind. However, there have been some decisions that the devs made that players are unhappy with. 

The first is that a lot of the “better” skins are only available for sale in the shop. The most anticipated skin, Jingle Belle Mercy, is only purchasable and cannot be attained through any of the challenges in the event. 

For those who have been playing Overwatch since its release, this system is still fairly new. During events in the original, players were able to earn new skins just by playing the game. There was still an option to purchase them, but that was not the only option available as it is now. 

The ticket system that Overwatch 2 is using for the free rewards you can get in the Winter Fair is also making fans agitated. Mostly because even if you get all the tickets available through playing games and buying the premium track, you do not have enough to get all the rewards in the Winter Fair bundles. 

You are able to buy the extra tickets you need to complete the Winter Fair bundles in the Winter Wonderland bundle available in the shop. 

Jared Neuss, Executive Producer of Overwatch 2, responded to fans’ concerns on X (formerly Twitter). “I hear you on wanting to be able to unlock everything. We wanted to give folks choice in the rewards they got from this event,” he said. 

It's $5 for 4 Legendary skins, which feels squarely in the spirit of the Holidays to me. 😀

I hear you on wanting to be able to unlock everything. We wanted to give folks choice in the rewards they got from this event. Will be interested to see if FOMO overshadows that benefit.

— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) December 15, 2023

Players were not happy with this idea, though. Redditor ‘AlvyTrout’ commented on a thread concerning this topic, saying, “‘The choice for players’ is in the free pass. If you don’t pay, you have a choice of skins. However, when you buy the ‘premium’ pass, you should get everything. Adding a third layer is greedy.”

It’s unlikely this system will change for the Winter Wonderlands event, but it’s evident that will want things handled differently in the future. We will keep you updated on any changes that come.

For more on Overwatch 2, read about players’ reactions to Mauga and the upcoming Lunar New Year event.