Image: NetEase Games
Trying to figure out what to play over the holidays? We’ve got you covered.
The holidays are approaching and for a lot of us, that means quite a bit of extra time on our hands to spend gaming. If you don’t already have a game set aside for the holidays however, you might be stumped trying to figure out what to play this month. Fortunately, most live-service games hold winter events for this exact reason, hooking players who have a little bit of spare time to grind out their limited-time cosmetics.
From Marvel Rivals to Dota 2, here are five of the cosiest winter in-game events you should check out in 2024:
Overwatch 2: Winter Wonderland
Blizzard Entertainment’s hero shooter Overwatch 2 is bringing back its annual snowy event Winter Wonderland this year, with the addition of a 6v6 mode! Blizzard is continuing its 6v6 tests with a 2-2-2 team role format in King’s Row, where snow has fallen over the map to liven things up. Additionally, players can get an icon and a souvenir for free just by logging in, and the usual slew of Arcade modes have made a comeback, including Mei’s Snowball Offensive.
Three legendary skins are granted to players upon the completion of three new challenges, and it’s simpler to get them than you might think: complete a total of nine games (wins count as double) to earn three skins and two highlight intros for Cassidy, Echo, and Widowmaker. The event is live from now until January 6, 2025.
Marvel Rivals: Winter Celebration
Marvel Rivals’ upcoming Winter Celebration event is all about Jeff the Land Shark. The former West Coast Avenger (that’s true, look it up) will be featured in an all-new 4v4 Splatoon-like game mode called Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival. In this mode, players will fight in a team of Jeffs against another team of Jeffs to spray colourful snow everywhere, in order to mark parts of the map as their own.
New cosmetics are also coming to the game for the Winter Celebration event, giving players new outfits for Jeff, Venom, Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Magik. This event runs from December 20, 2024 to January 9, 2025.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Jingle Hells
What’s more fitting for a cosy winter gaming session than fighting off a horde of zombies? Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode has launched a winter event called Jingle Hells, redecorating the Liberty Falls map with all manner of Christmas-themed garb (including the monsters themselves). The map also now features new GobbleGum, a new snowball-themed weapon, potentially evil snowmen, presents, and more.
The game’s main multiplayer mode is also getting festive content, including cheery weapon and character cosmetics, and a Nuketown makeover. This event is now live with no end date.
Dota 2: Frostivus
Valve has brought Dota 2’s annual Frostivus event back with lots of new in-game content, including the ability to wear and steal other players’ hats. First off, the event brings the Winter 2024 Heroes’ Hoard, which includes a whole bunch of new hero sets, taunts, Immortal items, and more in the Crownfall store. Players can also check out the Frostivus Forge, which unlocks tiered rewards for anyone who collects Festive Infusions.
Additionally, players now begin a game with a festive Frostivus hat donned by their heroes. They can use a new Spirit of Frostivus ability to steal hats from enemies or by killing them, stacking hats on themselves ad infinitum, just for the sake of it. A new holiday-themed comic is also available for your reading pleasure, and a new ban wave has seen 65,594 accounts banned for various issues like smurfing and win trading. Merry Christmas, you filthy animals.
Frostivus is live now, and ends on January 15, 2025.
Fortnite: Winterfest
Fortnite is playing its cards close to its chest for the return of its annual holiday event Winterfest this year, but we do know that it’s on its way! Winterfest is an exciting event for all Fortnite players, as it heralds the arrival of a metric ton of free in-game goodies – all contained in the cabin. The cabin is a cosy in-game area that houses presents (usually containing cosmetics and other freebies) for players to unwrap.
This year, the cabin returns in addition to what one can safely expect to be a bunch of new updates to the brand-new Chapter 6 map. This might include a new quest chain and item additions to battle royale, along with festive cosmetics in the in-game shop. A big block of ice has also appeared in Fortnite’s map, and it’s rumoured to contain a certain singer…
Well, what’s the use of being vague about it? It’s Mariah Carey, obviously. Winterfest will run from December 20, 2024 to January 7, 2025.
