This month’s Overwatch 2 Pride event hasn’t satisfied a large portion of the community, with players grilling developers about the lack of effort put into the LGBTQIA+ celebration.
Some gamers compared the “underwhelmingly” update, which shipped live on June 1, to various other events in Overwatch’s history and pointed out several glaring differences in the amount of content. Others had a simpler problem—they said it was so poorly launched they didn’t even notice it had begun.
In particular, Blizzard came under fire in a June 1 discussion on Reddit about it being called an “event” at all, with some disgruntled players specifically pointing to a lack of anything tangible beyond new cosmetics and some minor map changes.
The LGBTQIA+ celebration promised a Pride Parade Midtown update, name cards, player icons, and a new story between Pharah and Baptiste—and those things did arrive today. This event, however, falls short of the mark for the gaming community, especially when compared to prior events like the Valentine’s Day celebration had challenges and game modes alongside new cosmetics.
Some “didn’t even get a notification” the event had started, with a selection of gamers suggesting they only knew because of one Overwatch Twitter message.
With so many heroes in Overwatch 2’s catalog a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, it seems fans expected more than what Blizzard has offered up.
This “lackluster” event can now be filed under a long line of disappointments Overwatch 2 fans have been asked to stomach in 2023, not least of all the bombshell cancellation of the long-awaited PvE game mode last month.
Blizzard has yet to respond to any of today’s ongoing backlash.
