It’s been a few months since fans had their first look at the highly anticipatedOverwatch 2, and opinions are divided to say the least. ThoughOverwatch 2was first stated to be a fully-fledged sequel, and its current marketing would suggest as much, some fans are giving it the monikerOverwatch 1.5, expressing their disappointment with the game reusing assets, maps, and mechanics from its predecessor. While some fans have gotten to playOverwatch 2through its recent beta, and have come around on the game a little, Blizzard’s marketing hasn’t exactly left the intended impact.
Recently, Blizzard announced that fans could pre-orderOverwatch2in a special edition named theOverwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack. WhileOverwatch 2will be free-to-play on launch, this special edition costs around $40, leaving some fans to be a little skeptical of the pack’s offerings. Though theWatchpoint Packmainly offers fans a range of cosmetics for the upcoming game, there’s one inclusion that’s a little baffling.
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Buying Overwatch 2 Gives Players Overwatch: Legendary Edition
One of the biggest selling points of theOverwatch 2: Watchpoint Packis that it comes withOverwatch: Legendary Edition, a special version of the original game with exclusive cosmetics. While including previous entries as a pre-order bonus is nothing new to the gaming industry, with the likes ofFar Cry 5’s season pass includinga remastered version ofFar Cry 3, the decision to include it as part of this $40 special edition of a free-to-play game, seems a little odd.
For a start,fans ofOverwatchhave already likely been playing the original for a while now, with it first releasing six years ago. As the main demographic for theWatchpoint Packis long-time fans of the series who care enough about cosmetics to shell out $40 for them, it seems pretty backwards to give out a copy of the original game. This is also a pretty odd move consideringOverwatchcan be picked up for around $10-15 from the likes of GameStop.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with including the firstOverwatchin theWatchpoint Pack, but it’s place as a major selling point is strange. On PlayStation’s own store listing for theOverwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack,Overwatch: Legendary Editionis given top billing on the contents list, right under the guaranteed access toOverwatch 2’s upcoming beta. Most of the actualOverwatch 2-related content comes further down the page, suggesting that it’s not as important.
To make matters worse, theOverwatch 2development team has just announced thattheOverwatchsequel will be replacing the originalupon its October 4 release, renderingOverwatch: Legendary Editionunplayable, and in turn, making its inclusion in theWatchpoint Packeven more redundant. Previously,Overwatch 2Director Jeff Kaplan had stated that the game was going to coexist with the original, allowing players from both games to play with each other, or on their own specific servers. This also suggests thatOverwatch’s old 6v6 system is being entirely scrapped in favor ofOverwatch 2’s 5v5 setup, which is still proving controversial.
For those uninterested in buying theOverwatch 2: Watchpoint PackforOverwatch: Legendary Edition, there are a few extra bonuses that will be unlocked on October 4, whenOverwatch 2finally drops. Buying theWatchpoint Packwill give players the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, a Soldier 76 and Cassidy Legendary skin, 2000 units ofOverwatch 2’s in-game currency, and a unique player icon, along with guaranteed access toOverwatch 2’s beta.
Overwatch 2launches in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on October 4th, 2022.
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