"F**k you, I'm out": Overwatch 2 players outraged over inability to buy all Winter Fair skins despite Premium Pass

To no one's surprise, Blizzard Entertainment finds themselves at the heart of controversy with Overwatch 2 yet again. With the ongoing Winter Wonderland event in the free-to-play PvP shooter, the studio has introduced a brand new Winter Fair Battle Pass aside from the current Season 8 Battle Pass.

The Winter Fair Battle Pass also features a Premium tier, allowing players to earn various Legendary skins. It turns out that despite paying premium currency for the pass, players cannot earn all the skins on display due to how the progression is designed. This has more than a few fans fuming over Blizzard's continued efforts to disrespect the player base's time, efforts, and money, especially during holidays.

A player expressed their bafflement with the same on X, stating:

"Not only has this Season and Battle Pass been absolutely underwhelming, @PlayOverwatch has now introduced $12 Weapon Skins, a mid-season Event Battle Pass in which you cannot unlock everything with separate event themed bundles up to $30. I tried. F**k you, Overwatch 2. I’m out."

Fans are right to be exasperated (Image via X @Barik4Smash)

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

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Fans slam Blizzard Entertainment over the Winter Fair Premium Battle Pass skins in Overwatch 2

To summarize, the Winter Fair Battle Pass operates on a Ticket mechanic. Free players earn 10 Tickets every 9 matches (with wins granting double progression through the Pass track) for a total of 40 per week; Premium buyers can get 30 Tickets instead, meaning 160 per week, but they must spend 500 Overwatch Coins for that perk.

Now, let's take a look at all noteworthy cosmetics and their associated Ticket cost in Overwatch 2:

• Kerrigan Widowmaker (Legendary) - 160 Tickets
• Wrapping Paper Reinhardt (Legendary) - 160 Tickets
• Winter Jammies Illari (Legendary) - 90 Tickets
• Formalwear Baptiste (Legendary) - 90 Tickets
• Formalwear Cassidy (Legendary) - 90 Tickets

Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderlands event began on December 19, 2023, and ends on January 16, 2023, but players can only earn tickets until January 9, 2023. With how the Pass is designed, players have three weeks to grind the Winter Fair, allowing free users to earn a total of 120 tickets while Premium owners can obtain a maximum of 480 Tickets.

The total cost of all the notable skins in the Pass is 590 Tickets. Essentially, free players miss out on the 160 Ticket skins. Even Premium buyers will be unable to get every skin featured in the Winter Fair. That's without factoring in the rest of the cosmetics, like sprays and name cards, bringing the total to a whopping 695 Tickets.

If this was not bad enough, the Kerrigan skin is returning from Overwatch 1 and was offered for free to players who logged into the 2016 shooter. The Wrapping Paper Reinhardt skin is a recolor of the older Cardboard skin. The same is true of Illari's Winter Jammies, which is based on the Llama Pajamas skin that was part of Overwatch 2 Season 6 Invasion's Premium BP.

Considering this is the season of giving and gifting, it is not surprising that many fans feel cheated by this setup from Blizzard. Some of the comments from players on this matter are as follows:

The absurdity of the situation doesn't end here. There is a way to earn all skins in the Winter Pass. To do so, you must purchase the Winter Fair Bundle, featuring the Formalwear Tracer (Legendary) skin plus 575 Tickets - all for the "measly" price of 3,000 Overwatch Coins—which amounts to $30.

To top it off, the Formalwear Sojourn (Legendary) skin is not in this package either. Players need to pay an extra 2,100 Overwatch Coins to unlock it.

The Jingle Belle Mercy (Legendary) skin is oddly nowhere to be seen either. Blizzard Entertainment's obsession with toying with players' FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) mindset is no doubt further ruining the game's already-sorry state of affairs.

When an Overwatch 2 developer was questioned about the studio tweaking the Winter Fair Premium track to allow earning all cosmetics, here's how they responded:

The reason players do not get all the content they pay for is to incite FOMO among them was a direct admission of disrespecting the players. The replies did not hold back any punches, calling Overwatch 2 executive producer Jared Neuss "tone deaf" and "out of touch with the consumers."

It's certainly not the first time Blizzard Entertainment has gotten themselves in hot waters with the community. The question remains: what will they do to smooth things over with customers, if at all?