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Overwatch 2 announces Perks & the return of Loot Boxes

Blizzard has outlined its plans for the next several seasons of Overwatch 2.

Donovan Erskine

February 12, 2025 1:30 PM

Blizzard Entertainment

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The latest Overwatch 2 Spotlight stream brought a slew of major updates regarding the future of Blizzard’s hero shooter. In addition to a pair of new Heroes, upcoming seasons of Overwatch 2 will see the addition of Perks, new Competitive formats, and the return of Loot Boxes.

Blizzard shared a graphic that outlines the changes and new additions coming to Overwatch 2 in its upcoming seasonal updates. The first and arguably largest change is the implementation of Perks. Perks are unique to every Hero and provide bonuses to their existing stats and bonuses. Blizzard has published the full list of Perks, showing that they’re divided into minor and major categories and are unlocked at levels 2 and 3, respectively. Some examples are a Perk for Genji that lets his Swift Strike reset his double jump, and one for Ana that briefly slows enemies after they awake from her Sleep Dart.

Blizzard previously experimented with the return of 6v6 gameplay as its own playlist, and Season 15 will see 6v6 added as an option for Competitive mode. 6v6 Competitive will have its own rank, separated from other Competitive playlists.

Overwatch 2’s next season will also bring back Loot Boxes. Originally found in the first Overwatch, Loot Boxes reward players with a group of mystery items. This time around, players will be able to earn Loot Boxes through progressing their Battle Pass.

Lastly, Overwatch 2 has confirmed the next two Heroes coming to its roster. Freja is a crossbow-wielding DPS character who’ll be joining the fight on February 12. The following character, currently codenamed “Aqua,” is currently slated to arrive in Season 18 this fall. Less information is known about Aqua, but concept art of the character shows him holding a spear and using a water-based power.

The first round of Overwatch 2 changes, including the return of Loot Boxes and implementation of 6v6 Competitive, will arrive in Season 15, which kicks off on February 18.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_