Overwatch Team Considering Loot Box Changes

In a response to players' reactions to the way that rare items are being distributed in Overwatch, the Overwatch team is considering making some changes to the loot box system to make it more fair and rewarding.

Anniversary content has recently dropped for Overwatch players, another event that followed the also recent Uprising Event. There's plenty of new content for players to luck out on through the loot box system with 100 new cosmetic items being added for the Anniversary Event, but some players have expressed frustration at how difficult it is to obtain all of the items.

The crux of the issue lies in the fact that you can obtain duplicates of the cosmetic items that are automatically swapped out for credits instead of giving you two of the same thing. When you combine that feature with 100 new items that players understandably want to have, it can be a bit disheartening to buy a swath of loot boxes only to receive duplicates after opening many of them.

A Redditor in a thread that gained a lot of traction on the issue summed up the problem succinctly, saying that Blizzard wasn't by any means a bad company, but that the current loot box system needed to be examined.

Event Loot Boxes, right now, are not good enough. They guarantee only 1 event related item and more often than not you'll get a duplicate. Why is this a problem? Those who drop $40+ on the event are not adequately rewarded for supporting the game. Someone could buy 100 Loot Boxes and still not unlock all items related just to this one event.

No one is saying Blizzard is a bad company. They're awesome. Overwatch is an awesome game. We get awesome DLC's for free. And there's plenty of awesome events to keep us playing. That said, Event Loot Boxes specifically need to drop more... well... "Event" unlocks. That's just the truth. I understand some believe this will undermine the uniqueness of Event Unlocks. My response is no, it won't. Event Unlocks are unique because you played the event, the quantity of event unlocks you own does not affect your prestige. These unlocks are rewards for simply playing.

In response to conversations such as these, the Overwatch team announced that they are indeed listening and that they are discussing what should be done about the situation.

"I just wanted to acknowledge that we've been following the threads about the loot box rewards as they pertain to the anniversary events, other events and loot boxes in general," Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan wrote. "The feedback and suggestions have been helpful to us. We had a really great discussion yesterday about the feedback we've been hearing this week. While I don't have any immediate action items to report, I thought it was important for you to know that we are listening."

Some of the solutions suggested by players included removing the ability to obtain a duplicate of an event-exclusive item. Other suggestions include opting for the Heroes of the Storm system that allow for players to spend credits and reroll a reward.

There's no way of knowing at this time how the Overwatch team will make changes to the loot box system, but it's refreshing to know that they're listening.