Overwatch has gotten into the holiday spirit with the launch of Winter Wonderland, a seasonal event that is now live for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC team-based shooter.
Overwatch doesn’t charge players for new content, just the base game. Instead, Blizzard Entertainment makes its post-launch money by selling loot boxes that contain random cosmetic items. During seasonal events, unique costumes, sprays, animations, and more become available for a limited time. While loot boxes have become a hot topic thanks to Star Wars: Battlefront II, some gamers are more forgiving of them if they only give out cosmetic items that don’t give players an in-game advantage.
This is Overwatch’s second Winter Wonderland. Last year, it introduced a unique multiplayer mode, Mei’s Snowball Offensive, that had players engaging in a one-hit-kill competition. It returns this year, but Blizzard also added Mei’s Yeti Hunt, which has a team all playing as the cold-loving heroine as they go up against another player controlling Winston, Overwatch’s genius ape, in his Yeti outfit.
Overwatch launched in May 2016. It has been a big success for Blizzard, attracting over 35 million players.