Blizzard’s decision to make all heroes in Overwatch 2 free for every player was received well by the community, with some fans saying it might encourage them to start playing again.
The announcement came on March 19 when Blizzard confirmed all heroes will be automatically unlocked for everyone starting in season 10, which is scheduled for the middle of April. Judging by the reactions on the Overwatch subreddit, this might be the best thing to happen to Overwatch 2 in ages.
Redditors like Shiny_Amber and jmims_98 are delighted with the change even though it’s “overdue,” and even skeptical players like FearlessJames, who are still disappointed with Overwatch 2 as a whole, recognize this is a “very, very good change.” Others like Shazam4ever and AthenasChosen said it convinced them to give Overwatch 2 a shot, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a rise in player count after season 10 goes live.
Some fans are optimistic about Overwatch 2‘s future, with Lanky-Apple-4001 and thetrusora believing this change is a result of Bobby Kotick’s departure as Activision Blizzard’s CEO after Microsoft’s acquisition of the company. There’s no guarantee that’s the case, though, and we’ve already seen how Microsoft buying Blizzard didn’t automatically fixed any problems. Comments by former developers paint a sorry picture of Overwatch 2‘s PvE content (which was one of its key selling points) and Blizzard was among the studios affected by Microsoft’s layoffs in January.
Other more cynical players said the change is too little, too late. WorkedAndSeething called the free Heroes a “blatantly desperate move in an attempt to retain whatever little player-base it has left,” while v8darkshadow compared it to “[putting] a band aid on someone who’s had their arm amputated. And said arm has been amputated and bleeding out for a year and a half.” You also have to imagine anyone who spent money on Overwatch 2’s battle passes to unlock Heroes is feeling at least a little miffed considering Blizzard has no intention of offering refunds.
Overwatch 2 has had a frankly rough life cycle since its 2022 launch, with almost every other update or announcement eliciting complaints and backlash. User reviews on Steam are so overwhelmingly negative that it’s one of the lowest rated games on the entire platform. Blizzard making all the Heroes freely available may be a win in some fans’ eyes, but that alone probably won’t be enough to improve Overwatch 2‘s reputation.
