Rare Store Find Has Overwatch 2 Fans Nostalgic For Loot Boxes

A fortuitous find at a Target store leads one Overwatch 2 player to reminisce on the game's old days, when a different monetization model was in use.

The launch of Overwatch 2 saw a huge variety of changes made to the massively-popular team-based shooter, and a lucky discovery at a Target store has led many in the game's community to reminisce on one of the big features that players wish was transferred to the sequel. New heroes, cosmetics, maps, and more are just some of the additions brought along with Overwatch 2 so far, though not all the game's ambitious new features have gone down well with fans.

Overwatch 2's transition to free-to-play status has had massive consequences for certain parts of the game, for better or worse. At the time of its launch, Overwatch 2 was hugely successful at bringing in crowds of new players, with the game counting over 25 million total players in the first couple of weeks. While going free-to-play certainly opened the game's doors to gamers everywhere, it also necessitated a switch up in Overwatch 2's monetization methods. While the original game did feature microtransactions in the form of loot boxes that provided randomized cosmetics, Overwatch 2 opted to drop this method entirely in favor of a new shop section that uses its own currency.

RELATED: Overwatch 2 Player Makes Nostalgic Discovery After Deleting The Game

The shop area allows players to buy from a number of cosmetic bundles set on a weekly rotation in exchange for Overwatch Coins, which themselves can be purchased in set quantities with real money. This sort of monetization system is all too familiar within the gaming industry, but one veteran Overwatch 2 player recently shared a lucky find that brings to mind the original game's loot box system. The discovery itself was that of a gift card for the original game, and was shared in a post on Reddit by the user Cherry_Cheesecake123. Though Blizzard gift cards do still exist - albeit in a slightly different form - this particular example's reference to the classic loot box has reminded a lot of players how different the game used to be.

With scrapped PvE features, mounds of disruptive bugs, and frequent server outages, it's safe to say that Overwatch 2 hasn't been the most well-received of sequels. Perhaps its biggest controversy has been the shop system itself, as considerably steep cosmetic bundle prices and no methods of earning decent amounts of coins via gameplay has left many feeling frustrated with the new system since it was released.

Many players find it hard to believe that the issues with Overwatch 2's monetization have driven them to prefer the older concept of randomized loot, but the big advantage that loot boxes had over the current system is that they could be earned for free through gameplay while also being optionally purchasable. Overwatch 2 offers limited options when it comes to earning new skins for free, forming one of the community's largest criticisms that has persisted since launch.

Overwatch 2 is available in early access on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: All Diablo 4 Classes and Their Overwatch 2 Counterparts

Jack has been writing and publishing his own fictional stories and game-related blog posts since he was 14. A constant lover of video games for longer than he can remember, he has a habit of playing them to 100% completion - even if it means giving up on sleep.