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Highlights
- 2023’s Winter Wonderland event in Overwatch 2 will not have new brawls, but previous years’ brawls will make a comeback for players to enjoy.
- Instead of new LTMs, Blizzard is introducing an event pass called Winter Fair for Winter Wonderland, offering free and premium tracks with plenty of cosmetics to chase.
- Players can progress through the event pass by playing matches to earn tickets, and they can then choose their rewards from a handful of Christmas-themed skins and other cosmetic items.
Overwatch 2 has done a solid job of shaking up its seasonal events since the game debuted in late 2022. Halloween Terror received an entertaining PvE mission called Wrath of the Bride that extends the Junkenstein story, while Battle for Olympus replaced the old Archives event and gave players control of Greek Gods. Summer Games got a fun addition in the form of Winston’s Volleyball, while Halloween Terror shined yet again in 2023 with its Diablo-Themed Trials of Sanctuary. Though fans still have to wait to see how Blizzard will handle Lunar New Year in 2024, they have been briefed on a surprising Winter Wonderland change: an event pass.
In terms of gameplay, Winter Wonderland will unfortunately not be offering any new brawls for players to enjoy when it begins on December 19. Instead, all the ones from previous years will be back once again, with Freeze-Flash Elimination, Mei’s Snowball Offensive, and Yeti Hunt making a comeback. However, Blizzard is still giving fans a new reason to play by introducing an event pass for Winter Wonderland 2023 called Winter Fair. With a free track and a premium track available, there will be plenty of cosmetics for Overwatch 2 players to chase during the holiday season.
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Event passes are not unheard of in other live service games. For example, Destiny 2 events like Guardian Games offer event passes, and Overwatch 2’s has a fairly low $5 buy-in compared to the $10 requirement for Destiny 2’s premium event track.
Breaking Down Overwatch 2’s Winter Fair Event Pass
How Players Progress Through Overwatch 2’s Winter Fair Event Pass
Overwatch 2’s Winter Fair event pass progression is fairly simple, especially for players who are familiar with the character-based events like Reaper’s Code of Violence Challenge. For every 9 matches played, those on the free track will receive 10 tickets, with 40 tickets able to be earned each week by completing 36 matches. Bonus progress is offered for wins, which will presumably count for two matches each, so in theory players can get all their weekly tickets if they win 18 games. Those on the premium track will get an additional 30 tickets for every 9 matches played, making for a total of 160 tickets per week. In total, free players can earn 120 tickets and premium players can earn 480 tickets. However, if players only want a few items from the Winter Fair event pass, they should save their tickets, as leftover tickets will be converted to credits on January 15.
What Items Can Be Earned From Overwatch 2’s Winter Fair Event Pass?
There will be five skins to chase in Overwatch 2’s event pass, four of which are new Christmas-themed designs. The skins included in the event pass are as follows.
- Kerrigan Widowmaker (160 tickets)
- Wrapping Paper Reinhardt (160 tickets)
- Winter Jammies Illari (90 tickets)
- Formalwear Cassidy (90 tickets)
- Formalwear Baptiste (90 tickets)
The skin lineup for the event pass is certainly interesting, as though Wrapping Paper Reinhardt is a recolor, it is one that fans seem to be quite positive on, and that positivity will only grow if it keeps the Cardboard Reinhardt skin audio. Winter Jammies Illari is the other recolor in the lineup, essentially giving those who missed her Llama Pajamas battle pass outfit a second chance to get an alternate version of it. Formalwear Cassidy and Baptiste are two new and incredibly stylish versions of the heroes, and though Kerrigan Widowmaker is an odd inclusion for a Christmas-themed battle pass, it was previously one of the game’s rarest skins since it was part of a limited time event in the original Overwatch. As such, it will likely be appealing to new and old players alike.
However, there is going to be more than just skins in the holiday event pass, as the following items will also be included.
- Cassidy highlight intro (15 tickets)
- Shield weapon charm (10 tickets)
- Name Cards (10 tickets)
- Profile icons (10 tickets)
- Holiday sprays, including ornaments for new heroes (5 tickets each)
Players will have to make some tough choices about the items they want, however, as there are 480 tickets up for grabs if players fully complete the premium event pass, but 660 tickets’ worth of items in the store. Those on the free track can get either Cassidy, Baptiste, or Illari, and then 30 tickets’ worth of random items. Those on the premium track will not be able to get every single skin and item either, though they can get multiple skins and a larger portion of the extra items available in the pass.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 is Blizzard’s free-to-play team-based first-person shooter. The title features some new heroes like Junker Queen and Sojourn, as well as returning favorites.
