Blizzard Resurrects Loot Boxes in Overwatch 2 For Season 15
Blizzard’s decision to bring back loot boxes to Overwatch 2’s 15th season launching on Feb. 18, 2025, has sparked quite the controversy in the gaming community due to their gambling nature targeted towards children and minors.
Roughly two years ago Blizzard removed loot boxes from Overwatch as part of the transition to Overwatch 2 because the sequel was meant to become Free-to-Play. In order to monetize the game, battle passes and direct purchases of cosmetics were introduced instead.
Popular gamer and YouTuber Asmongold defended Blizzard for initially removing loot boxes from Overwatch because he thought it was wrong to introduce the gambling element to children. In a video response to bringing loot boxes he didn’t hold back.
“I think they made the wrong call with this. It’s disappointing that they decided to go in this direction. It’s not good and I don’t agree with it,” Asmongold said.
Meanwhile, the Overwatch reddit community is mostly positive about Blizzard’s decision and excited at the prospect of getting skins from previous seasons for free.
“I loved loot boxes back in the day. I had most of the cosmetics from loot boxes just playing the game daily and never spent a penny,” Reddit user Classic1990 commented.
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Gambling Related Issues
Countries that regulate online gambling have expressed their thoughts on loot boxes in video games and often describe this trend as problematic.
The regulatory body in the UK, the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) said almost 10 years ago that they take issue with loot boxes in video games.
“In early 2016 we identified loot boxes as a potential risk to children and young people as part of a wider review on our concerns around video games and gambling themes,” the UKGC said in a statement.
As of today, the UKGC has not changed its position.
In 2023, the UKIE (UK Interactive Entertainment), the video games industry’s trade association, worked with the government on a series of measures to improve the protection of children. This included a specific provision for loot boxes in video games, which needs to be flagged as existing in the game, have a clear list of probabilities for the contents of the box, and the need for a refund policy.
In its press release, Blizzard outlined the new system for the loot boxes in Overwatch 2, and included the probabilities of getting different types of items.
Regular loot boxes will have a 5% chance of a legendary item, 23% chance of an epic, 96% chance of a rare and a 98% chance of a common item.
Legendary loot boxes will have a 100% chance of a legendary item, while the remaining items will have the same drop rates as a regular loot box.
This means that a legendary loot box will guarantee a legendary item, but with the vast number of legendary items available in the game, chances of a player getting their desired item is very small.
“They (loot boxes) will be available from weekly and event rewards, as well as earning one Legendary Loot box in the Free Battle Pass, and an additional two Legendary Loot boxes in the Premium Battle Pass,” Blizzard said in its press release.
More Overwatch 2 Updates
The competitive team-based hero shooter will see more updates, including more rewards, new experiences, metas and heroes, as well as key Quality of Life changes, and of course, more cosmetics, even from previous seasons. More information about updates to Overwatch 2 is scheduled for release when season 15 goes live.
Moving forward, season 16 will see a Hero Bans in Competitive and a Map voting system where players can take part in deciding where matches will take place. The Hero Bans will allow players to not allow specific heroes that are either too strong or frustrating.
Season 17 will bring another Mythic Hero skin and a new fearsome Mythic Weapon.
