‘Overwatch”s Big Battle Pass Changes For Season 4 Have Fans Celebrating

Overwatch is having a big year. On top of releasing eight new heroes over the last few months, Blizzard has a new update that will rework this shooter’s Battle Pass system to make it more player-friendly.

Season 4, which launches today, gives players more control over the order they unlock cosmetics, lets players swap out skins, and removes some FOMO elements from the game’s monetization. As for the first change, the Battle Pass is no longer entirely linear, breaking up its 80 tiers into shorter “tracks,” which can be completed in any order. The tracks are eight to 10 tiers, with a Legendary or Epic skin at the end of each. Chris McCabe, the game’s Product Director, wrote that the Battle Pass will have the same number of tiers as before and will take roughly the same amount of time to complete, but will give players more control over the rewards they receive.

Premium Battle Passes also have a new feature called the Tier Hack. This allows players to swap one Legendary skin in the Pass for a different legacy skin from a curated pool. Next, partway through Season 4 in September, Blizzard will add the Legacy Battle Pass Unvault system, which gives players a second chance to earn rewards from select expired Battle Passes. Once a player purchases the Pass (or if they already own an eligible one), it will stay permanently available. That said, “Unvaulted Passes do not include the original premium currency, Mythic Prisms, Prestige Titles, or Mythic Hero and Weapon Skins.”

Fans of the game are very excited about the news. “I’ll finally be able to get that Zarya walking emote that I couldn’t get three years ago. Massive W,” a Reddit user wrote. “Thank you, Marvel Rivals!” another said, referencing how that game lets players permanently acquire Battle Passes they paid for, something that likely influenced Overwatch‘s Unvault system.

Overwatch has proven a rare bright spot at a struggling Xbox. Blizzard was recently described in a leaked internal email as the “top-performing” studio at the company, in large part due to Overwatch “delivering its strongest quarter since 2022.” The game’s supercharged release schedule is definitely a part of that. D.Mon, the game’s newest tank, is coming out alongside Season 4.