Overwatch (formerly Overwatch 2)
Released 4 October 2022 Developer Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch is a free team shooter in which two teams of five pick heroes, each with their own abilities, and compete to capture points or push payloads on colourful maps. It replaced the 2016 paid game in October 2022 under the name Overwatch 2, and Blizzard dropped the '2' from the name in February 2026. It suits teenagers and adults who like team play.
Money health
CautionBuilt to push spending
Addictive design
Moderate3 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price
Freefree to download
Spending ceiling
No ceilingRepeat purchases, no limit
Australian rating
Violence
How it makes money
Caution: built to push spending
Overwatch is free to play. It makes its money from Overwatch Coins, sold from 500 coins (A$7.45) up to 10,000 coins plus a bonus of 1,800 (A$149.95), which buy hero skins in the shop and the Premium Battle Pass. The pass has 80 tiers and was reworked in August 2026 so players choose which reward track to follow. A bundle that adds tier skips and 2,000 coins costs A$63.95, and a second currency, Mythic Prisms (10 for A$14.95), unlocks top-tier Mythic skins. Paid loot boxes were removed in 2022; loot boxes returned in 2025 as free rewards only. Heroes are free, and the paid items are cosmetics, with one paid add-on for story missions.
How you pay
- Battle pass
An 80-tier pass for each season, with a free track and a Premium track bought with coins. The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle (Premium pass, 20 tier skips, 2,000 coins and two Legendary skins) is A$63.95. From Season 4 (11 August 2026) rewards are split into tracks. Older passes from Seasons 1 to 15 returned as permanent 'Unvaulted' passes in Season 5 (6 October 2026).
- Free-to-play
Free to download and play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Switch 2. Earns from Overwatch Coins and Mythic Prisms sales and bundles.
- Cosmetics
Shop and pass items are skins, weapon skins, emotes and similar. Heroes are free; Blizzard made new heroes free for everyone from Season 10 (April 2024), after originally gating them behind the pass.
Techniques it uses to keep you paying or playing
- Never-ending
A live game with no end, in seasons of about two months: Season 5, Reign of Talon, began on 6 October 2026.
- Game currency
Overwatch Coins (500 for A$7.45 up to 10,000 plus 1,800 bonus for A$149.95) pay for shop items and the Premium Battle Pass; Mythic Prisms (10 for A$14.95, 100 for A$111.95) pay for Mythic skins.
- FOMO timers
Event collections and bundles are offered for set dates (for example Halloween items from 9 to 26 October 2026), although older passes now return through Unvaulted passes.
minor part of the game - Always online
Online-only. The original 2016 Overwatch, which people had paid for, had its servers shut down on 2 October 2022 and was replaced by this game.
minor part of the game - Held back
The Invasion story missions are sold separately: the Invasion Bundle (permanent mission access, 1,000 coins and a skin) is A$23.95 on Steam.
minor part of the game - Starter pack
A seasonal Starter Pack (Season 5, 2026) of 1,000 coins and an Epic skin is A$15.95, a cheap first purchase compared with the larger bundles.
minor part of the game
Used to, but no longer
- Loot boxesremoved
Paid loot boxes were removed when Overwatch 2 launched in October 2022. Loot boxes came back in Season 15 (February 2025) but cannot be bought with money: they are earned in play, in the pass and through events, and Blizzard published guaranteed-rarity rules. The Australian classification still carries a 'chance-based in-game purchases' descriptor.
Fairer alternatives
Similar games with a healthier money model
What it costs
Free to start, then A$7.45–A$149.95 a purchase
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Overwatch Coins (smallest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$7.45 | Oct 2026 |
| 1,000 Overwatch Coins | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$14.95 | Oct 2026 |
| 10,000 (+1,800 bonus) Overwatch Coins (largest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$149.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle 2026: Season 5 Premium Battle Pass, 20 tier skips, 2,000 Overwatch Coins and Legendary skins; the same price is listed on the Xbox store. |
Steam (AU) · PC | A$63.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Starter Pack 2026: Season 5 1,000 Overwatch Coins and an Epic skin. |
Steam (AU) · PC | A$15.95 | Oct 2026 |
| 10 Mythic Prisms Second currency, for Mythic skins; 100 Mythic Prisms is A$111.95. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$14.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Invasion Bundle (story missions) Permanent access to the Invasion story missions, 1,000 coins and a skin; A$22.45 on Xbox. |
Steam (AU) · PC | A$23.95 | Oct 2026 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
-
8/ 10
IGN
Felt the move to five-a-side teams gave the shooter new life, though it had not yet won back its former sharpness.
-
8/ 10
GameSpot
Said the core play and characters were improved, but that some of the original's spirit was lost.
-
9/ 10
Game Informer
Called it a well-rounded evolution of the original rather than a reinvention, and a step towards restoring faith in the series.
-
74/ 100
PC Gamer
Thought it revived a stagnant hero shooter but misunderstood what had made the first game great.
-
7/ 10
Nintendo Life
Said it was too close to the original to justify a numbered sequel and noted the heavier focus on monetisation.
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings & content
What's in it
Content labels
- Violencemoderate
Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.
From ACB and ESRB descriptors - Blood & goremoderate
Blood, injuries and body damage on screen.
From ESRB descriptors - Drugs & alcoholmild
References to, or use of, illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
From ESRB descriptors - Languagemild
Swearing and crude language, from the odd 'damn' to frequent strong profanity.
From ESRB descriptors
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- Text and voice chat
- Players can interact with strangers
- User-made content: not recorded
- Needs an online account
A Battle.net account is needed. Players are matched with strangers in team games, with voice and text chat, which the Australian classification flags as 'online interactivity and chat'. Blizzard Support has a parental-controls help page for Battle.net accounts, and console and Steam settings cover chat and spending on those platforms. The Premium Battle Pass, coin packs and Mythic Prisms are all real-money purchases that a parent may want to block at the platform level.
Who makes it
The company behind it, and its track record
- Workplace misconduct
Workplace misconduct findings
California Civil Rights Department sued Blizzard and its parent in 2021; settled for about $54 million over pay and promotion discrimination claims in December 2023, approved by the court in January 2024; the claims were not adjudicated. - Loot-box action
Loot-box enforcement
Belgian Gaming Commission, April 2018: found Overwatch's paid loot boxes were a game of chance in breach of Belgian gambling law. - Shut down paid games
Shut down games people paid for
Blizzard shut down the servers of the original, paid Overwatch on 2 October 2022, replacing it with free-to-play Overwatch 2.
Latest on the record
- Labour
About 1,900 workers ratified first union contract
Kotaku - Investigation
EU consumer regulators investigated Diablo Immortal spending design
Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) - Other
Blizzard games went offline in mainland China after NetEase deal ended
The Verge
A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 Native Switch 2 version |
14 April 2026 | — |
| Nintendo Switch | 4 October 2022 | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 4 October 2022 | — |
| PlayStation 4 | 4 October 2022 | — |
| Xbox Series X|S | 4 October 2022 | Store page |
| Xbox One | 4 October 2022 | — |
| Windows PC Battle.net and Steam (Steam release 10 August 2023) |
4 October 2022 | Store page |
Further reading
- Official website
- Overwatch: Season 5 announcement (Oct 2026)
- Director's Take: Battle Pass Revamp (Season 4, Aug 2026)
- PCGamesN: loot boxes return to Overwatch 2 as free rewards (Feb 2025)
- Wikipedia: Overwatch (2023 video game)
- Wikipedia
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: overwatch.blizzard.com, overwatch.blizzard.com, overwatch.blizzard.com, www.xbox.com, store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, www.pcgamesn.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.metacritic.com, opencritic.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.