Overwatch 2has certainly been having a rough time as of late. Blizzard has not come close to reaching the massive player count milestone from launch, with many dropping off in the months since the game debuted. Competitive players have criticized the state of the ranked mode, a progression system has still not arrived, and smaller groups of fans likeRoadhog mains are disappointedwith the state of their favorite hero. Add these issues on to the general negativity around the game’s cosmetic prices and the devastating PvE news, and the hero shooter cannot seem to catch a break.
Fortunately,Overwatch 2has managed to get its latest bit of content right, that being its Pride event. While Blizzard does smaller things every year to celebrate Pride month and its LGBTQ+ heroes, this year it has gone above and beyond with some proper in-game content. Best of all, Blizzard is not charging for these items, giving fans a collection of free items that pay tribute to various sexualities and the game’s five gay heroes.
RELATED:Overwatch 2 is Taking the Right Steps for LGBTQ+ Rights
Overwatch 2’s Pride Content is a Nice Break From The Negativity
To be clear, much of the criticism aimed at Blizzard in recent months is understandable. While gamers should be more respectful to the developers and direct there anger in the right direction, there are legitimate complaints to be leveled atOverwatch 2, and nobody is happy about what happened withHero mode and PvE talent trees. Still, many continue to love the game and want it to succeed, so it is nice to have a bit of good news to rally behind.
Blizzard got the ball rolling for the Pride event with a powerful short story aboutBaptisteand Pharah. In it, Pharah confidently states that she is lesbian, comfortable with her sexuality and doing her best to help Baptiste understand how to embrace being bisexual. It’s a beautiful tale and feels well-thought-out, and there is a good chance that a lot of players relate to either Pharah or Baptiste when reading through it. However, Blizzard also added a fair share of in-game content to make Pride a lot more special this year.
Instead of charging players for cosmetics themed around Pride, Blizzard went the route of free content, giving fans a big collection of profile icons and name cards to use for their profiles. Players get special cards for theLGBTQ+Overwatch 2heroes, with Lifeweaver, Tracer, Soldier: 76, Pharah, and Baptiste getting card variants with and without their associated flag. Plain cards with just flag colors are also present. The designs are excellent, and players get numerous profile icons to match, ensuring that they can fully represent their sexuality without spending any money to do so. In total, there are 15 icons and 24 name cards, with players’ cosmetic lineups being heavily expanded thanks to this collection of free items.
Blizzard also redesigned the Midtown map to feature a Pride parade, giving a fan favorite location an appropriate redesign that will likely stick around for the entire month of June. From rainbow crosswalks to Pride flags, the map should put a smile on the face of any gay fan of the franchise as well as any LGBTQ+ allies. Additionally,Blizzardis releasing anOverwatch 2shirt with a pride-themed variant of the logo, with the profits going directly to the National Center for Transgender Equality.
While some are understandably questioning whetherthe badOverwatch 2PvE newswas deliberately saved until right before the Pride event, the event itself is worthy of being celebrated either way. Pride was planned far in advance and was surely going to happen no matter what went down with PvE, so focusing on the good makes sense. If one does look at the positives, they will find an impactful short story that gives lesbian fans a new hero to look up to, a collection of awesome free cosmetics, a map celebrating gay rights, and a neat charity program. Hopefully,Overwatch 2uses this event as a stepping stone to continue restoring the series’ damaged reputation. While it does not erase what happened with PvE, it does show that there are a lot of developers at Blizzard who care about doing a good thing.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Overwatch 2’s New Symmetra Event is Another Example of a Recurring Problem
