An Overwatch 2 job posting appears to confirm that the sequel to Blizzard’s 2016 hero shooter will feature brand-new cosmetic reward types for players to unlock.
Cosmetic rewards in Overwatch fall under several of categories: skins, sprays, voice lines, emotes, victory poses, and highlight intros. From there, there are some sub-categories such as sit and dance emotes, the latter of which being exclusive to the Anniversary event.
Now, it would seem like Overwatch 2 will be introducing new types of cosmetic unlocks that did not exist within the first game.
A job listing for “Game Producer, Character Cosmetics” on Blizzard’s site states that the person selected for the role would “spend your days collaborating with the teams responsible for building amazing cosmetics for Overwatch 2’s diverse cast of Heroes.”
“From development of new cosmetic reward types to the latest over the top D.VA skin. Our goal is to always surprise and delight our players,” the posting continues.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t go into further detail about the types of new cosmetic rewards that Overwatch 2 will feature, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate.
Currently, the only weapon-specific cosmetics in the game are limited to golden guns, so that would be an incredibly obvious area where Blizzard could introduce new weapon skins separate from individual hero skins.
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It’s also possible that these cosmetics could have more visual effect elements that would make them better suited for PVE story missions than the competitive game itself.
Of course, we still don’t know what Blizzard’s plans are for Overwatch 2 post launch, but it seems increasingly likely that some sort of Battle Pass is implemented and Loot Boxes are retired.
“Overwatch 2, in terms of business model, we’re exploring different options that move us away from loot boxes, but I think that will be more for Overwatch 2 than the core game. I would never rule anything out,” former Overwatch 2 Game Director Jeff Kaplan said back in 2020 when asked about changing the monetization of the game to something like a Battle Pass.
“I think battle passes are cool. Putting monetization to the side, a battle pass is a fun engagement mechanism,” he added.
If Overwatch 2 does in fact feature a Battle Pass system then that could tie into new cosmetic types that will be available when the sequel finally launches, when that is, however, remains a mystery.
So far Overwatch 2 has no release date, but expect to learn more info in the coming months in the lead up to an open beta.