Blizzard has announced that loot boxes will be making a return to Overwatch 2 in the game's upcoming fifteenth season, so if you're nostalgic for that particular aspect of the game's bygone days (for some reason), then you're in luck.
According to senior systems designer Gavin Winter, the goal for the return of loot boxes is "keeping it fun while being transparent about what's inside and the rate of various drops from opening each box".
In a post summarizing yesterday's Overwatch 2 Spotlight presentation, Blizzard says loot boxes will contain "a variety of cosmetics". That'll include skins, voice lines, and more, just like it used to be back in the early days of Overwatch.
Lest you think this means Overwatch 2's battle passes are going away, think again. Blizzard says you'll be able to earn loot boxes "from weekly and event rewards", as well as via the battle pass.
One Legendary-level loot box will be available via the free track on the battle pass, while two further boxes will be earnable via the Premium track. It doesn't sound like you'll be able to directly buy loot boxes from Overwatch 2's in-game shop.
Perhaps to stave off some of the criticism that's been aimed at the nature of loot boxes over the years, Blizzard says it's aiming to be "transparent" about what chances you'll have to obtain certain levels of cosmetics.
Each loot box is guaranteed to contain one Rare or better item, while an Epic item will definitely drop within five boxes and a Legendary item will drop within twenty.
Specifically, you've got a 5.1% chance of a Legendary item in a regular loot box and a 100% chance of one in a Legendary box. Epic items stand at 21.93% and Rare items at 96.26% across all boxes, with common items sitting at a rarity of 97.97%.
The Overwatch 2 Spotlight also offered a look at some of the other things coming to the game as part of Season 15, including new crossbow-wielding hero Freja, the new Stadium game mode, and the introduction of a Perk system to let you customize heroes.
Loot boxes will be reintroduced to Overwatch 2 when its fifteenth season begins on February 18th. The game is available to play right now for free on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
