‘Happy 10 years, I guess’: Overwatch players not pleased with 10th anniversary offerings

Ten years of Overwatch is a big deal, and should be celebrated accordingly.

If you ask Overwatch players in the West, though, the offerings up for grabs by Blizzard during the game’s 10th anniversary event are very lackluster, especially compared to what’s being offered in other regions of the world.

Every May, the limited-time Anniversary event rolls around for Overwatch, offering throwback skins, playable events, and more. This year, for the game’s 10th anniversary, to celebrate the 2016 launch of the original game, players were expecting something big and have been left feeling flat by what’s actually in store.

Blizzard revealed this morning that, from May 12 to June 1, the 10th Anniversary for Overwatch will include 21 re-color skins for the game’s original launch heroes, 15 Anniversary loot boxes, 33 dev team and community-made cosmetics, weapon charms, and “much more.”

The offerings seem fine on their own, but when compared to what’s coming to Overwatch players in China, it feels lacking. NetEase Games operates the game in that region, and the festivities include the ability to unlock 10 free Mythic skins, 40 Legendary skins, a bunch of loot boxes, and access to previous seasons’ battle passes.

The replies to the social media post about the anniversary event are majority negative, with many calling it into question, considering what China is getting. Several Reddit threads have similar venom. Personally, I don’t have an issue with what all of the other regions around the world will be getting, but the apparent “favoritism” in the region is also nothing new. Since Blizzard and NetEase struck a deal to bring Overwatch back to China a few years ago, the latter has taken over operational control in the region, leading to many exclusive items.

Should Blizzard up the ante in Anniversary offerings elsewhere in the world to better match what NetEase is doing? Let us know in the comments before booting up Overwatch Anniversary when it goes live tomorrow, May 12.

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Forza Horizon 6 somehow leaked and was cracked wide open over the weekend, leading to some players gaining access to it well ahead of its launch day.

The game isn’t due to launch until May 19 (the Premium Edition gets access four days earlier), but many have somehow unlocked and begun playing the game as early as a few days ago. Gameplay videos have begun appearing on YouTube, Twitch, and other websites, and it’s gotten a bit out of hand, forcing the game’s devs to address it.

It seems that players accessing the game likely has something to do with an early access review build appearing as 155 GB of unencrypted downloadable files on SteamDB, and developer Playground Games says it is “not the result of a pre-load issue.” It’s possible that a content creator or reviewer with early access broke embargo and made it all possible.

“We are taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing this build including franchise-wide and hardware bans,” Playground said. “We encourage fans to sit tight for the game’s release on May 19.”

The full game is now reportedly appearing on piracy sites, although some who have accessed it say they were able to do so simply by pre-ordering. The player who was first to crack the game says that its files were not encrypted, so it’s turned into a bit of a blame game.

No matter who or what is at fault, Playground says it may be banning people who play it early, and some have taken exception to that by claiming that it was a mistake on the studio’s end and that they should not be punished for playing the game early because of it.

But for those who pirated the game illegally once it leaked, there’s no real argument to be had, so think twice before booting up the game before it’s unlocked for real later this week or next, depending on which edition you buy.

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