Overwatch devs promise more skins than ever in 2022 amid Lunar New Year backlash

❘ Published: 2022-01-26T06:59:26

Blizzard

Overwatch developers have copped another wave of backlash in light of the latest Lunar New Year event providing fewer Legendary skins than ever. Addressing the criticism head-on, Blizzard has now promised more new skins in 2022 than any other year.

2022’s Lunar New Year event in Overwatch arrived on January 25 to less fanfare than usual. While the same assortment of modes and map redesigns came through as usual, alongside a fresh balance update to boot, fans were left disappointed by a lack of new cosmetics.

Typically, these seasonal events come with a wide range of new skins for many of the game’s most popular characters. Just last year we saw five unique Legendary designs added into the mix. This year, however, that number dropped down to just two.

While a handful of other rewards are still on offer, players were quick to voice their displeasure over the skin shortage. With feedback piling up on the Blizzard forums, developers responded and made a big promise for the year ahead.

Just two Legendary skins arrived in 2022’s Lunar New Year event, a considerable drop from seven in the first iteration.

“Only two Legendary skins? Is this an out of season April fools joke?” players questioned shortly after the event patch went live.

Fully expecting to have this conversation, Community Manager Andy Belford responded and outlined how “this year’s skins [are] a deeply personal labor of love for the art team.”

Blizzard is “so happy” with how the new Mercy and Tracer designs “turned out.” However, the devs are well aware of this drop in content compared to previous events.

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“The skins team is hard at work on new content,” Belford assured. Not only that, but more Legendary skins are supposedly in the works “than any year prior.”

There’s no telling how many skins are on the way, but it should be a step up from every other year, according to the devs.

While no specific numbers were provided, Belford promised he wasn’t “talking about only Overwatch League skins.”

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Therefore, it’s safe to expect remaining events in 2022 will be packed full of original designs. With no release date in place for Overwatch 2, there’s still no telling if any of these skins will feature in the upcoming sequel.