The All-Star skins for Genji and Tracer were revealed during the Grand Finals of the Overwatch League. And they quickly became the subject of discussion. While some weren’t feeling the “over-the-top” aesthetic in comparison to the style of the rest of the game, others loved it. But it wasn’t long before the skins drew a hefty bit of controversy. Blizzard went on to reveal that the skins would cost 300 League Tokens a piece. This came out to roughly $15 per skin. Naturally, people were upset about this. $15 is a bit steep for a skin. But Blizzard heard the outcry and listened, reducing the price to 200 League Tokens. This comes out to $10 a skin, which is more manageable.
This isn’t the first time Overwatch has had to deal with these paid content controversies, however small they were. Not terribly long ago, fans got up in arms about a Lucio emote. It’s exclusive to those with the Overwatch League All-Access Pass, which costs a whopping $30. However, others came to Blizzard’s defense as the emote, itself, isn’t $30. The All-Access Pass comes with a number of other aesthetic in-game items and features for Overwatch League viewers. This opened up a debate about binding content to the pass in the first place, which is a valid point of conversation.
Another much less controversial factor was the Pink Mercy skin. Back in May, Blizzard revealed a new skin for Mercy that cost $15. While there was some pushback, it was significantly less. This was because the skin was specifically created to raise money for charity. It was made in support of breast cancer research and the proceeds went to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. There were also a few other cosmetics people could unlock by watching certain twitch streamers that’d partnered with Blizzard for the campaign. The Pink Mercy skin was largely met with praise, whereas the Overwatch League cosmetics weren’t.
One could argue that $10 is still a bit steep for a skin. Perhaps if they were more in the ballpark of 150 League Tokens, then they could collectively be about $15, rather than the $20 they are now. But, the fact that Blizzard listened to the outcry at all was certainly a good move. They didn’t really issue a statement about the matter, which might have been a good idea. But hopefully they learn from this and it won’t be a problem in the future.