‘Overwatch 2’ brings back free credits after microtransaction complaints

Activision Blizzard is set to re-introduce free-to-earn credits in Overwatch 2 following complaints about expensive microtransactions.

Following the launch of Overwatch 2, Blizzard retired the free Overwatch credits that had been a mainstay of the original game, removing one of the few ways players could unlock skins without paying for them.

However, following complaints about the expensive microtransactions, Blizzard has announced it will be reintroducing free credits.

“In Season 3, we’re bringing back Overwatch credits, which had been previously shown as Legacy credits and been unearnable in Overwatch 2,” said a developer blog.

“Now, all players can earn up to 1500 credits as free rewards and another 500 credits as premium rewards spread throughout Season 3’s Battle Pass. We are also adding more uses for your credits so you can choose from many potential rewards,” it continued, highlighting that “nearly all” the legendary skins prior to Overwatch 2’s launch will always be available to purchase for credits via the hero gallery.

The standard price of those skins has also been lowered to 1500 credits, meaning that players should be able to earn one new skin per battle pass, just from playing the game.

“These changes aren’t the end of our journey to make Overwatch 2 a more rewarding game to play – they’re just the beginning,” said Blizzard. “We have more updates coming in future seasons, and we’ll be reading your feedback to understand what’s working, and what isn’t, for all of you.”

Elsewhere in the blog, Blizzard spoke about wanting to “be more willing to take creative risks for limited-time game modes” and “generally, we want to add or improve systems that better celebrate players match to match as well as across seasons,” including a revamped “on fire” system to “highlight when you’re having a particularly impressive performance within a match.”

Earlier this week, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller outlined a number of changes that will be coming to Blizzard’s shooter in Season 3, including “more clarity” for players looking to determine their ranked skill. He admitted that the mode suffered from “poor comprehension” at launch.

Back in December, Blizzard made new Overwatch 2 hero Ramattra easier to unlock, following player feedback. 

In other news, Microsoft has confirmed that it will be removing over 40 titles from the Xbox 360 Marketplace later this month, meaning players will no longer be able to download the affected games.