As Overwatch 2 transitions to free-to- play heroes, Blizzard confirms that you won't get anything back if you've already purchased heroes through battle passes.
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It's a great day for Overwatch 2 players who play for free, but not so much for those who have spent money in the game in order to access new heroes as soon as possible. Blizzard has confirmed that from Season 10 onwards, new players will be distributed to everyone immediately, preventing paid players from accessing new heroes faster than free-to-play users.
Overall, there's no denying that this is a great change. Until now, it was possible to unlock every hero in Overwatch 2 without paying, but without purchasing the Premium Battle Pass, you had to go through levels of the Free Battle Pass before you could play with the new ones when they were released. This took a lot longer than getting them with a single click, which gave paid players more time to practice with them and potentially gain an advantage over free-to-play players. The upcoming change doesn't just affect the newer heroes, but also the older ones, who will be unlocked immediately for anyone who doesn't already have them (though new players will still have to complete the user experience for the first time).
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Blizzard has no plans to distribute refunds or gifts.
So what's not to like? Well, those who previously paid for Premium Battle Passes to unlock heroes faster may be disappointed, as Blizzard has confirmed that it has no plans to give players anything in return for their money in a distribution model that is now considered outdated. In a roundtable interview watched by GamesRadar+, game director Aaron Keller states: "We are not currently planning any gifts or refunds for players who purchased previous battle passes."
To be fair, purchasing the Premium Battle Pass was never necessary to unlock heroes, it just ensured you got them faster – something that can't be taken away from those who took advantage of these quick unlocks as they happened. The Premium Battle Pass also allows you to unlock more cosmetics and rewards than the free one, so it's not like the heroes were the only selling point.
Still, you can understand the disappointment of anyone who thought heroes were the main motivation before. The upcoming change will be implemented from Season 10 onwards, with the next new hero, Venture, being the first fresh character to be distributed to everyone immediately.
Source: gamesradar
