The Overwatch "PachiMarchi" event has been announced by Blizzard, but this isn't your standard event — this fun new in-game escapade will put the adorably weird "Pachimari" mascot in the spotlight.
Overwatch is certainly no stranger to in-game events. It has several special events regularly spaced throughout the year for real-world holidays, the game's anniversary, and seasonal celebrations like summer and winter. Players can count on these events to debut new skins, sprays, highlight intros, emotes, and more. (Previous events might also debut a new map or game mode, but Blizzard has slowed down the pace of new content while it continues its work on Overwatch 2.)
Aside from these regular events, Blizzard has also launched limited, one-shot "challenge events" that center on a particular hero, the first of which was 2018's "D.Va's Nano Cola Challenge." These mini-events typically coincide with a media release like a new animated short or comic and feature a new skin for a particular hero, other new cosmetics like sprays or player icons, and the opportunity to score some sweet Twitch drops. Now, a somewhat stranger mini-event is all set to arrive very soon.
What is the Overwatch PachiMarchi Event?
The Overwatch PachiMarchi event is categorized as a "challenge," a mini-event similar to D.Va's Nano Cola Challenge or Ana's Bastet Challenge. What makes this event particularly strange, however, is who it's focused on.
Previous "challenges" have focused on a particular hero such as D.Va, Ana, Baptiste, or a handful of others. This time, however, the Overwatch PachiMarchi event is focusing on the game's "Pachimari" mascot.
Pachimari is a fictional character from the Overwatch universe that was created by concept artist David Kang. It features in over a dozen player icons, sprays, in-game models, and it's event part of one a Roadhog emote. Other than that, though, it's largely been a nice piece of background flavor for the game.
As Pachimari is not a hero, it's difficult to say how exactly this event will play out or what players will get. We can probably expect to see the standard "nine wins to unlock a big new item" setup that previous challenges have had — we just don't know what that prize will be.
One thing we do know, however, is that this will be the first challenge event to not feature any Twitch Drops according to a forum post from Community Manager John Nash (via Overbuff). The Twitch drops system is currently undergoing an overhaul and will return for future events with "a better viewer experience."
Overwatch PachiMarchi Challenge Rewards Revealed
Update (03/09/21, 2:40 PM EST) — The rewards for the Overwatch PachiMarchi event have been revealed following yesterday's announcement. As some might have suspected, this particular event features cosmetics for Roadhog and Junkrat.
The Overwatch PachiMarchi Challenge gives players the opportunity to unlock items by winning matches in most game modes, just like any of the other past challenges. 3 Wins will unlock the "Pachimari Hat" Player Icon, 6 Wins will unlock Junkrat's "Pachimari" Emote, and 9 Wins will unlock Roadhog's "Pachimari" skin. You'll have a total of roughly two weeks to get your wins and score these cool new items, so make sure not to miss out!
When Does the Overwatch PachiMarchi Event Start?
The Overwatch PachiMarchi event begins tomorrow, March 9, 2021. No specific launch time was announced, but Blizzard tends to begin and end its events around 1:00–2:00 PM EST.
Whatever this event may be, it's certainly an interesting change of pace for the game — especially since we're going to be waiting a while longer for the launch of Overwatch 2. You can begin your adventure in Blizzard's sci-fi first-person shooter by buying Overwatch for PC and consoles starting at $19.99 or your regional equivalent.
What do you think we'll get as rewards for the Overwatch PachiMarchi event? Which hero do you think will be the focus of its own mini-event next? Let us know in the comments below!
