Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard is going to make you pay to play the PvE missions it didn’t cancel.
Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that Overwatch 2’s upcoming PvE story missions will not be free-to-play, unlike the rest of the game. Instead the developer plans to charge $15 for ‘permanent access’ to the first three story missions launching in Season 6. Future story missions will likely require additional payment.
Watch a trailer for Overwatch 2 Season 6: Invasion below:
When Blizzard first presented Overwatch 2: Invasion during the Xbox & Bethesda showcase earlier this week, it seemed like the massive season of content would be like any other, bringing plenty of free content to the game alongside a purchaseable battle pass. Invasion is the biggest drop of content the sequel has seen since launch however, and it looks like Blizzard can’t resist making money off that fact.
In an official announcement, Blizzard announced that players would only get access to the three new story missions if they buy a special $15 ‘Overwatch 2: Invasion Bundle’. The bundle includes:
- Access to the Overwatch 2: Invasion Story Missions, during the season and permanently after
- 1,000 Overwatch Coins (equal to the Premium Battle Pass, $10 USD value)
- A brand-new Sojourn Legendary skin ($19 USD value)
- Permanent access to Sojourn as a playable hero for new players: unlocked upon completing Story Mission challenges.
There is no other way to play these story missions, even if you buy Season 6: Invasion’s Premium Battle Pass. This would be an extra purchase on top of that - unless you want both, in which case you can buy the $40 'Overwatch 2: Ultimate Invasion Bundle', which includes:
- The Null Sector Premium Battle Pass with 20 Battle Pass skips ($30 USD value)
- An additional 1,000 Overwatch Coins, for a total of 2,000 Overwatch Coins ($20 USD value)
- Two additional Legendary skins for Cassidy and Kiriko ($38 USD value).
- All of the rewards from the basic Overwatch 2: Invasion Bundle
Players are already revolting against the announcement, especially considering that it comes so soon after Blizzard axed Overwatch 2's highly-publicised Hero missions. The sequel’s announcement and marketing largely hinged on its PvE story campaign, and the promise that players would finally see its universe and characters move forward past Winston’s recall in the original game.
The promise of more story content understandably drummed up a lot of hype around Overwatch 2’s launch for hardcore fans, only for them to be let down by the game launching without any PvE content whatsoever, and then cancelling its Hero missions, and now confirming that story missions will be drip fed and paywalled over the next few years. It’s not a good look for a company that is already being harshly judged for its predatory monetisation. Even Diablo 4 isn’t immune to that.
Blizzard plans to show off more of these story missions during a livestream next week, on June 21.
