Blizzard has decided to remove loot boxes from Overwatch. They will disappear from August 30th. They won’t be in Overwatch 2 either.
Not everything is necessarily good about video games, or at least not everything is necessarily accepted or acceptable. Some disputes are still alive. One that has been seen quite a lot lately has to do with loot boxes, those famous items that can be bought with real money that give players random content. Blizzard has taken a rather radical decision regarding the latest in its Overwatch game.
Blizzard decided to remove loot boxes from Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment has indeed decided to stop selling loot boxes in Overwatch. This will be effective from 30 August. The studio announced this on its blog. Date coincides with the end of Anniversary Remix Vol. 3, which started recently. Blizzard also indicates that players will still have the opportunity to win loot boxes (and therefore free) after this date. In addition, the game will automatically unlock all loot boxes in players’ inventories until Overwatch 2 launches on October 4th. Since this new game will replace Overwatch at some point, this ensures that players don’t lose skins and other cosmetic items before updating to the latest version.
They will disappear from August 30th.
Last June, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 would be phasing out loot boxes entirely in favor of a Seasonal Battle Pass system and a “constantly updated”in-game store. The move came after the studio said it would not offer Diablo Immortal in Belgium and the Netherlands due to laws in place in both countries that prevent such monetization in video games.
They won’t be in Overwatch 2 either.
Loot boxes have been causing a lot of controversy for several years now. Some countries have taken drastic action, comparing it to pure and simple gambling. The studios are in a delicate position. Blizzard’s decision regarding Overwatch and Overwatch 2 isn’t all that bad.