Is Overwatch 2 Winter Fair Battle Pass worth buying?

The latest Overwatch 2 Season 8 also introduces the Winter Wonderland event. This holiday-themed festival brings an all-new Winter Fair battle pass to the game, allowing players to grind for Legendary skins for fan-favorite characters. Keeping in line with the free-to-play nature of Overwatch 2, it features a free tier and also a Premium tier costing 500 Overwatch Coins (or $5).

With many players having already purchased the Call of the Hunt Season 8 Battle Pass, they will need to pay extra to obtain the limited-time cosmetics. So the question is: Is the Winter Fair Premium Battle Pass worth the money, or should players save up for the next Season?

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Overwatch 2 Winter Fair Battle Pass is an interesting concept but misses the mark sharply

Before we delve into the specifics, we need to understand how the Winter Fair works. It operates on a Ticket basis where players earn tickets every nine matches. This is tracked via a progression bar, which grants double progress on winning matches. Furthermore, while free players get 10 Tickets, Premium owners earn 40 instead.

It should be noted, however, that it is not possible to grind Tickets during this event. While the Overwatch 2 Winter Fair ends on January 9, 2023, players will only earn the set amount of tickets on each weekly track - with three weeks accounted for, Premium owners can earn a total of 480 Tickets; free players will earn a maximum of 120.

As for the rewards, a bunch of cosmetics can be earned in Overwatch 2 by spending these Tickets, each with varying costs:

• Kerrigan Widowmaker Skin (Legendary) - 160 Tickets
• Northern Dreams Rare Name Card - 15 Tickets
• Terran Player Icon (Rare) - 5 Tickets
• Ornament Lifeweaver Spray (Common) - 5 Tickets
• Ornament Mauga Spray (Common) - 5 Tickets
• Wrapping Paper Reinhardt Skin (Legendary) - 160 Tickets
• Winter Jammies Illari Skin (Legendary) - 90 Tickets
• Winter's Hearth Name Card (Rare) - 15 Tickets
• Ornament Illari Spray (Common) - 5 Tickets
• Formalwear Baptiste (Legendary) - 90 Tickets
• Formalwear Baptiste Player (Rare) - 15 Tickets
• Sparkle and Shine Baptiste Spray (Common) - 5 Tickets
• Formalwear Cassidy (Legendary) - 90 Tickets
• Smoking Gun Cassidy Highlight Intro (Epic) - 15 tickets
• Longhorn Name Card (Rare) - 15 Tickets
• Longhorn Weapon Charm (Epic) - 10 Tickets
• Bang Bang Cassidy Spray (Common) - 5 Tickets

This amounts to a total of 690 Tickets. If players have been paying attention thus far, they will realize that the amount Premium owners earn is not enough to buy everything on this list. On that note, developer Blizzard Entertainment has already been caught in a controversy surrounding the Winter Fair Battle Pass.

So, is this worth buying? In our opinion, only three skins are worth it: Kerrigan Widowmaker, Formalwear Baptiste, and Formalwear Cassidy. The other two are recolors of existing skins for Illari and Reinhardt. The deal doesn't sound especially exciting when players realize that Kerrigan was given away for free in the first Overwatch, but its rarity means it is a good deal for newcomers.

This is especially true since the skins that rarely come around can be ridiculously expensive in the Store when they do appear, thanks to store, season, or event rotations. Those who already have the skin, however should skip this and wait for the Season 9 Battle Pass for Overwatch 2 with potential future skins.