Overwatch 2’s Season 3 has officially kicked off, bringing in a series of special events, a new map, and a new method to earn Credits. There are a lot of changes for the competitive FPS, but before going in blind to the latest season, you might want to know all the details of the stuff you’re about to experience.
Nine weeks have passed since the start of Season 2 and the introduction of Ramattra. We won’t be getting a new hero this time for Season 3, but there’s a lot of content to enjoy. We have a series of special events, including the return of PachiMarchi and a Valentine’s Day-themed event. And don’t forget the Battle Pass, either.
Season 3 Battle Pass
Blizzard has unveiled four skins you can snag if you purchase the premium version of the Battle Pass. There’s the Amaterasu Kiriko Mythic skin you can unlock once you reach level 80, and cosmetics are available for Junkrat, Moira, and Reaper. Plus, the Battle Pass includes Credits for the first time—you can use this in-game currency to buy cosmetics from the shop.
The theme for Season 3 is Asian mythology, and if you take a look at the Battle Pass, its reward reflects that. Compared to Seasons 1 and 2 where we had 20 and 21 rewards for the Battle Pass’ free version, Season 3 boasts 30 rewards on the free track.
If you’re an avid buyer of Overwatch 2’s premium Battle Passes, it will cost you 1,000 Overwatch Coins (or $10 respectively). Premium Battle Pass holders will automatically get a 20% bonus to the XP they earn until the next season arrives, which should help you get to the max level of the Battle Pass faster. Moreover, you’ll instantly get two Legendary skins for your collection—no grinding needed.
New Map
Hold onto your hats because we’re getting a new Control map for the game, which comes from an Antarctic Peninsula. If you’ve watched Mei’s “Rise and Shine” cinematic, you might’ve seen the main facility of Ecopoint. The Antarctic Peninsula will reveal more about what Meio and the other scientists were doing on the Earth’s southern tip. The lore-rich tundra has several stories yet to be told, but you might uncover all the mysteries soon as Season 3 progresses.
The snow-themed Control map features an underground drilling station and an ice-breaker ship. Some parts of the map offer a high-ground advantage and tons of flank routes, making every move to an area and objective a plight experience. Oh, and there are penguins and even a fishing hole too.
Ow 2 Gets A…Dating Sim?
This might shock most of you, but Overwatch 2 is getting its first dating sim, Loverwatch. It’s a non-canon text-based dating sim (similar to visual novels, I suppose) where you’ll have to choose between two potential dates: Mercy or Genji. The dating sim will present plenty of dialogue options to interact with your chosen hero. And don’t worry if you get overwhelmed because Cupid’ll assist you. If you unlock the secret ending, you’ll be treated with a Valentines-themed POTG highlight for Hanzo.
Loverwatch is accessible using a web client, and it’s only playable until February 28, so don’t miss out on this opportunity! A full playthrough of both characters only takes about 30 minutes.
More Events
Feel the love even more with the Hazo 4v4 Limited Time Mode! You can do Support-themed challenges to net yourself two epic skins and other rewards for free. This LMT will be available from February 14 to 28.
In other news, PachiMarchi is back on March 21 and will include a new limited-time “Kill Confirmed” game mode. Of course, there are tons of rewards to collect, including six PachiMarchi player icons, a weapon charm, an Epic skin, and a name card. If you log in during the event, you can claim a PachiMarchi Roadhog player icon free of charge. What’s more, if you complete the themed challenges before the event ends on April 4, you’ll get an Epic PachiMarchi Roadhog skin for your efforts!
Overwatch Gets Its First Crossover
The secret to getting strong is to do 100 sit-ups, 100 pushups, and a 10-kilometer run—all day, every day. If you’ve heard these words before, not only are you a man of culture, but you’ll be delighted to hear that One Punch Man-themed skins are coming to Overwatch 2. This is Blizzard’s first-ever IP collaboration for the FPS, and they’ve created a cosmetics collection from the anime.
Doomfist had to have the Saitama skin, but there are still other incoming skins for the crossover. Blizzard will reveal each item when they drop on March 7. If rumors are to be believed, I heard that we’d be getting a Legendary skin for the collab you can earn through themed challenges.
That’s All, Folks
That’s about all the major updates for Season 3 of Overwatch 2. Blizzard also launched a series of QoL and balance changes for the game. Mercy received nerfs, and the max ultimate charge retained when swapping heroes while in-game is reduced from 30% to 25%. I’m sure Blizzard will make more adjustments soon as Season 3 goes on, but in the meantime, don’t worry about it too much and just bask in the new content.