Can you believe that it’s already almost been two years since Overwatch was released? What began as an experimental shooter from Blizzard turned into a global phenomonom almost overnight (or at least that’s what it felt like). To celebrate the game’s second birthday, Blizzard is throwing a huge birthday party of sorts. They’re going to be releasing a new Deathmatch map, Petra, along with over 50 new cosmetic items for players to collect.
Among these cosmetics, there’ll be eight new Legendary skins; three Epic-rarity skins; new dance move emotes for Brigitte, Moira, and Doomfist; and all previously released cosmetics from past events will be available for players to purchase. There’s gonna be a lot of stuff for you to collect, so if you’ve been taking a break from Overwatch to play Fortnite–or some other game–then, starting May 22, this is the perfect time to get back into the fight.
You’ll have a brawl!
Past brawls and cosmetics are back for Overwatch Anniversary 2018.
The celebration begins May 22! 🎉🎂 pic.twitter.com/C58AFSvfOs
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) May 14, 2018
Along with the release of the new Deathmatch map, Petra, Blizzard plans on implementing a brand new competitive mode for Deathmatch in general. From what it appears, it’ll be a separate ranking system from that of the normal one, with placement matches, leaderboards, and a skill rating division. It hasn’t been stated whether or not this mode will be permanent, or if it’ll just last for the anniversary event only.
New loot boxes will be available to every player that signs in to Overwatch. The first loot box you receive is guaranteed to have at least one Legendary-level item. You can purchase the 50 loot box bundle for yourself if you don’t feel like grinding it out. If you choose this option, then a bonus of one Legendary loot box will come with it. And that’s not all. All previously released loot boxes (like the previously released cosmetics) will be available in the anniversary event.
Finally, Blizzard will release a “Legendary” edition of Overwatch on May 22, the same day the event begins. This version of the game will only be sold digitally on PC, Ps4, or Xbox One and includes the base game along with 15 skins–varying from Legendary, Epic, and Origin.
