The final Overwatch 2 event of the year is almost upon us. Winter Wonderland is always one of my favorites, given the seasonal theme that we see on several of the maps and some of the tremendous skins that pop up. Three limited-time game modes are returning from previous years too. But the big change this time around is to how Blizzard is handling event cosmetics.
You’ll be able to earn rewards through the Winter Fair Event Pass, which has both free and Premium tracks. For every nine games you play of Overwatch 2 during the event (wins count as double), you’ll earn tickets. You can spend these to unlock rewards, much like you would for a prize at an amusement park.
Play on the free track and you can earn enough tickets to unlock one free Legendary skin: Formalwear Cassidy, Formalwear Baptiste or Winter Jammies Illari. Given that Pajamei is my favorite skin in the game, I know which of those I’d be going for.
However, if you’re willing to pony up 500 Overwatch Coins (roughly $5), you can unlock additional rewards on the Premium track. As such, you’ll be able to snap up as many as three extra Legendary skins along with other cosmetics. Skins on offer here include the new Legendary Wrapping Paper Reinhardt and others such as the StarCraft-inspired Kerrigan Widowmaker that Overwatch players were able to unlock for free a few years ago.
It’s up to you to determine whether the skins on offer through the Premium track are worth 500 Coins and the time it’ll take to earn enough tickets to unlock all the ones you want. Still, it’s good to see that Blizzard is willing to experiment with monetization of event skins. The Reinhardt one could have easily been a shop skin that costs 1,900 Coins, for instance. Offering players the chance to unlock a Legendary skin of their choice for free is welcome too.
Meanwhile, Mei’s Snowball Offensive, Yeti Hunt and Freeze-Flash Elimination are all fun modes and I’m glad to see them back in the mix. You can complete challenges in these modes to earn extra XP for the Season 8 Battle Pass.
Last but not least, there will be several holiday-themed skins popping up in the Shop over the next few weeks. You’ll be able to snap up Legendary Formalwear skins for Tracer and Sojourn, along with Nutcracker Pharah and Festive Kiriko. On top of those, you’ll finally be able to get your hands on the Jingle Belle Mercy skin that fans have been clamoring for ever since that look debuted in Winter Wonderland key art some time ago.
Overwatch 2’s Winter Wonderland event will run until January 9. You’ll have until January 15 to spend your tickets in the Winter Fair. If you have any unused tickets after that date, Blizzard will convert these to Credits that you can use to unlock Overwatch 1 cosmetics in the Hero Gallery.
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