UPDATE: Blizzard has confirmed that the $15 price is to access the Overwatch 2 story missions period. They will not be free the season that they’re added to the game.
Original story follows.
By trying to be both a free-to-play game and one with premium story mode content,Overwatch 2is trying to have its cake and eat it too. Whereas the originalOverwatchreleased to widespread critical acclaim,Overwatch 2’s early access launch has earned mixed reviews as the game finds itself at the center of one controversy after another.
The decision forOverwatch 2to completely erase the originalOverwatchupset many fans of the hero shooter, as did the decision to get rid of loot boxes and replace them with an expensive digital storefront. The lack of updates on the promisedOverwatch 2PvE campaign mode didn’t sit well with fans either, and many were devastated to learn that theHero Mode was canceled, effectively meaning that what was shown at the game’s BlizzCon 2019 reveal wouldn’t be happening.
RELATED:Overwatch 2 Teases New Support Hero and Confirms When Story Missions Are Coming
But while the fully-featuredOverwatch 2PvE experience advertised at BlizzCon 2019 isn’t happening, Blizzard has promised that story missions are still on the way for the hero shooter. These story missions will be released as part of the game’s seasonal content, and the goal will be to tell an ongoing, linear story. Considering how high qualityOverwatch 2’s animated shortshave been, fans are understandably excited for story missions to make their way to the hero shooter. But now it’s been clarified that anyone that wants to keep access to them will have to pay at least $15.
Overwatch 2 Story Missions Cost Money for Permanent Access
The first threeOverwatch 2story missionswill be added to the game on August 10 as part of the big Season 6 Invasion update. Blizzard has confirmed that a premium Invasion bundle will be available that costs $15 and includes permanent access to the story missions. This suggests that if someone were to joinOverwatch 2in, say, Season 7, they would not be able to start the story from the beginning without buying the Invasion bundle. And that assumes that the Invasion bundle will even still be available for purchase.
This also implies that futureOverwatch 2story missions will cost money for those that want to keep access to them. Just as an example, let’s say the three story missions coming in Season 6 are followed up by three story missions in Seasons 7, 8, 9, and 10, for a total of 15 missions. If the other missions are only available while that particularOverwatch 2seasonis live, it would potentially mean forking over $75 to get the full story experience for someone joining in on Season 11. Of course, it’s possible Blizzard will shake up how it handles story mission distribution, and it remains to be seen how often new story missions are going to be added to the game, but how it’s being handled in Season 6 sets a scary precedent.
While there still needs to be some clarification on how it will all work, the decision has outraged theOverwatch 2community, who responded to Blizzard’s tweet with all kinds of angry comments. Many see this as a way to create FOMO in players. If players decide to skip anOverwatch 2season, they will have to pay real money to catch up on the story missions when they come back.
Meanwhile, some have interpreted the announcement asOverwatch 2story missions costing $15period, which would make matters worse. However, the choice to specify “permanent access” does seem to suggest that the story missions will be freely available for at least the duration of the season that they’re added in. Unfortunately, there’s been no clarification on that front at the time of this writing.
Overwatch 2 is Supposed to be a Free-to-Play Experience
Charging money for new story content is not nearly as controversial in other games as it is inOverwatch 2, but there’s a reason for that.Overwatch 2is marketed as a free-to-play game, yet when the story missions are eventually put behind a paywall, it effectively makes the gamenotfree-to-play. What makes matters worse is thatOverwatch 2completely erased a premium game that players had already paid for -Overwatch 1- and blocked all the cosmetic content that could once be earned for free behind microtransactions.
By charging players money to keep the story missions,Overwatch 2is trying to have its cake and eat it too. It’s trying to be a free-to-play game and a premium game at the same time, and that approach is not sitting well with the community.Blizzard has responded to fan feedbackand pivoted accordingly with some of its other controversialOverwatch 2moves, but it remains to be seen if the same will happen with its approach to story missions.
One example of Blizzard taking fan feedback into account and changing its approach comes with theOverwatch 2Battle Pass. Originally, the Battle Pass lacked any kind of premium currency for players to earn, which is a common perk in the battle passes of other games. After some community backlash, theOverwatch 2Battle Pass now lets players earn Overwatch Coins.
While it’s possible Blizzard will eventually change the way it’s distributing story missions inOverwatch 2, fans can at least expect this to be in place for the first three story missions added in the August 10 Invasion update. In the meantime,Overwatch 2’s Season 5 contentis launching soon and while it doesn’t have any story missions, it does feature some brand-new game modes for fans of the hero shooter to try while they wait for the more substantial Season 6 update to roll around in August.
Overwatch 2is available now in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Overwatch 2’s New Support Hero Being Melee-Focused Would Be a Double-Edged Sword
