Here Are The Overwatch 2 Freebies Blizzard Is Handing Out After Its Difficult Launch
It's fair to say that since its public launch on October 4, 2022, Blizzard's "Overwatch 2" has had a bit of a rocky start. The issues aren't limited to the kinds of things one might expect from the launch of a popular new game that focuses on multiplayer — though there have definitely been plenty of headaches involving long game queues and server congestion, too.
Beyond the kinds of growing pains you'd expect from an online game, "Overwatch 2" has also had a few bizarre ones, such as a chat bug that led to players accidentally buying in-game items they didn't mean to purchase (via Reddit), in-game items that were supposed to be included with early purchases of the Watchpoint pack not appearing, and players not being able to use some playable heroes that they'd purchased.
Additionally, two playable heroes have been temporarily removed from the game due to bugs associated with their use during matches. Oh, and there was the phone number requirement during account creation that has since been ditched due to backlash. Blizzard is well aware of these issues and intends to "make it up to players" the best way it knows how (or is willing to): with free in-game stuff that doesn't actually cost the company any money (via Twitter).
Blizzard hopes some free items will placate players
In fairness to Blizzard, appeasing such a large number of players quickly wouldn't be feasible with physical goodies — though arguably some free in-game currency would smooth things over a little better than what's currently being offered. Still, something is better than nothing, and to its credit, Blizzard has been actively addressing these bugs and poorly thought-out implementations as they've come to the forefront.
So between October 25th, 2022, and the end of "Overwatch 2" Season One on December 6, every player who logs into the game at least once will receive both a Health Pack weapon charm, and a Cursed Captain Reaper legendary skin (via Blizzard). On top of that, it's going to start running Double Match XP weekends to give players a way to speed up their progression, though specific dates for these weekends haven't yet been provided.
Less tangible, but perhaps more important, is the added fact that Blizzard has set up a dedicated page for keeping track of known issues, planned fixes, and patch releases. The company won't give you free stuff or enhance your ability to earn in-game goodies, but it is an easier way to follow along with what is (or isn't) being addressed — and a far better option than scouring through forum posts to stay up to date.