Blizzard Locks Overwatch 2’s Hotly Anticipated Diablo 4 Skins Behind $40 Bundle, Sparking Backlash

Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard has come under fire for locking eye-catching Diablo 4 skins behind a $40 bundle.

Launched yesterday, the Lilith skin for Moira and the Inarius skin for Pharah are both part of the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7.

Lilith and Inarius are main characters from Blizzard’s action role-playing game Diablo 4 — Lilith the demonic mother of Sanctuary and antagonist of the game, Inarius a fallen angel who ostensibly defends humanity.

Both these Diablo 4 skins, which Blizzard leaned on to promote the recently launched Season 7, Rise of Darkness, are exclusively sold through the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7. There is no other way to get the skins than forking out real-world money.

It’s worth noting the bundle includes nine items. Here are the contents of the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7:

• 20 Battle Pass tier skips
• Premium Battle Pass (Season 7)
• 2,000 Overwatch Coins
• Skins: Inarius, Lilith, Pumpkin
• Highlight Intros: Be Beautiful
• Sprays: Inarius’ Side, Lilith’s Side

Shocked Overwatch 2 players reacted in anger to the way Blizzard is making these Lilith and Inarius skins available. In a thread on the Overwatch subreddit that’s seen nearly 14,000 upvotes, YayoProtocal accused Blizzard of being “greedy”. “Saw the new Moira and Pharah skin in the trailer and was excited for the first time in a long time,” YayoProtocal said. “Some of the best looking and only skins for them in a long time and it’s of course locked behind a shitty payware bundle. Not even available for premium BP, but the goddamn ultimate that they want money for. I should’ve seen this coming… Way to be greedy and ruin the excitement Blizzard.”

YayoProtocal is but one of many disgruntled Overwatch 2 players who dislike the bundle. “I had premium currency saved up for this and the battle pass,” redditor Mothman405 said. “I’m floored the only way to get it is pay $40.”

“Wow, that’s actually awful. What a joke,” said ConfidentInsecurity. “Lol, that skin [Lilith] was actually going to get me to purchase my first skin from the OW2 store. Not anymore…” said DecisionTypical. “For real, I saw this skin and was so hyped,” Ena_Ems_17 added. “Like you couldn’t have just let us get it as its own separate thing, why do I have to buy a bundle with a skin for a character I hate and never play, just to get another skin?”

the only way to get the Lilith and Inarius skins in Overwatch 2 is through buying the fucking stupid $40 season pass bundle god FUCK YOU BLIZZARD

— Blight Yoakam (@Vomit_Dragon) October 10, 2023

they really made the moira skin available only in a $40 bundle overwatch 2 is such a joke

— snart (@meowjesty) October 10, 2023

A skin that featured prominently in Blizzard’s advertising for their new season of Overwatch 2 is exclusive to a $40 bundle.

It’s not even on the Battle Pass. pic.twitter.com/QuZnEv9MDX

— Crystar (@Crystar800) October 11, 2023

I had to see it before I would believe it. But, yes – the awesome Lilith Moira skin in Overwatch 2 is the literal dry fucking that Blizzard is so well known for. The skin is only available through a £35/$40 bundle and cannot be earned in-game nor paid for separately. Fuck You. pic.twitter.com/KQDHMIv7qh

— The Pixel Epoch (@thepixelepoch) October 11, 2023

After seeing the Overwatch 2 devs once again bait and switch the community with putting the Diablo 4 collab skins behind a paywall, I think it’s safe to say that the OW2 devs are the biggest scabs in the gaming industry right now. Might as well rename the game OvEArwatch.

— Fusa (@FusaBalor) October 11, 2023

Some players have also accused Blizzard of hiking the price of the The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle relative to previous seasons. “They kept the $40 price tag for the Season 7 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle without having the additional value of the Invasion Bundle,” redditor captain_awesome18 said.

“The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season Seven is $40. It was priced at $30 for the first five seasons, but raised it to $40 for Season 6 because of the inclusion of the Invasion bundle. They now kept the same pricing without the additional value of the PvE missions.”

The backlash to the Diablo 4 skins comes amid long-running negativity about Overwatch 2, which is currently the worst user-reviewed game ever on Steam. Fans have hit out at Blizzard on a number of issues, including replacing the premium Overwatch with the free-to-play Overwatch 2, and the controversial decision to cancel Overwatch 2’s long-awaited PvE Hero mode. During a recent financial call, publisher Activision Blizzard admitted Overwatch 2 engagement and player investment was declining.

Overwatch 2 isn’t the only Blizzard game to push players’ buttons when it comes to aggressive monetisation. When Diablo 4 launched, players reacted in horror at its costly microtransactions. World of Warcraft players have also criticised Blizzard for the way it monetises its massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].