Overwatch 2 is set to return to form in season 15 next week—not only with six-vs-six gameplay as an option but with the arrival of loot boxes once again.
Loot boxes were a key component in the original Overwatch as the main method of players acquiring skins in events and other cosmetics. After being replaced by a free-to-play system in OW2, they’re now back, but with different odds and multiple ways of earning them.
Loot boxes are not currently available to purchase in season 15, and they also won’t be rewarded at each level up anymore, since account levels are a thing of the past from OW1. Instead, they will now be available from weekly rewards and event rewards, and in the battle pass.
Each loot box guarantees a Rare or better cosmetic in every single box, with an Epic guaranteed within five consecutive boxes, and a Legendary within 20 consecutive boxes. So, the more you open, the more chance you have at getting a better item. Blizzard says the system is designed to avoid duplicates, too, and even if you somehow own everything, the game will reward an “I Owe You” credit that starts progress toward another free box once new content is added.
One Legendary loot box will be free in each battle pass, and two additional Legendary loot boxes will be acquirable through the Premium battle pass. And below, we’ve listed the odds for items that can be found in each loot box, via Blizzard:
| Item rarity | Loot Box odds | Legendary Loot Box odds |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 97.97 percent | 97.97 percent |
| Rare | 96.26 percent | 96.26 percent |
| Epic | 21.93 percent | 21.93 percent |
| Legendary | 5.10 percent | 100 percent |
Blizzard also confirmed that loot boxes will not contain current season cosmetics or collaboration cosmetics and that all loot boxes will be opened at the end of each season, so nothing will go to waste if you forget to pop one.
It remains to be seen how loot boxes feel in OW2, but in the end, purchasing them are entirely optional and not necessary like they used to be in the past for items. You still must purchase the battle pass to earn those items, but that’s an industry mainstay at this point.
The return of loot boxes may end up being nothing but an additional source of revenue for Blizzard, or a fun way to re-live the past for some gamers. But if you don’t want to use them, you don’t have to, and that’s a positive this time around as the industry as a whole has moved away from this model of loot delivery in games for several years now.
Loot boxes will go live alongside OW2’s season 15 next week on Feb. 18.
