As Overwatch 2 gets closer and closer to release, age ratings on the game are starting to pop up in different countries. Most intriguingly, however, is the lack of mention of loot boxes in the German age rating, leaving gamers wondering if Overwatch 2 loot boxes will be present in the game or not.
In the past few years since the original Overwatch game released, the tide has turned against loot boxes and microtransactions, especially in places like Europe that have condemned the practice as harmful to minors and barely distinct from gambling. Some countries have even passed legislation against them.
In Germany, specifically, the government recently amended their Youth Protection Act to limit loot boxes (which it refers to as “cost traps”), and any game that includes them will have its age rating increased, diminishing its audience.
While loot boxes in the original Overwatch game were exclusively cosmetic (only giving players stickers, emblems, and costumes), the temptation to get them was still there. However, the Overwatch 2 loot boxes might not be gone in their entirety.
It’s entirely possible that Activision has made it so that only certain regions will have to use loot boxes in order to attain these sorts of things. Belgium, for instance, successfully passed an anti-microtransaction law, and that didn’t change anything outside of the country for most games that included loot boxes.
Overwatch in Germany is rated 16+, while the game is still rated T in North America. While we don’t know yet exactly what the particulars of Overwatch 2 loot boxes are, it’s likely that Activision-Blizzard will come up with a way for players in countries that don’t allow microtransactions to still have access to the cosmetics normally obtained in the game’s loot boxes.
At any rate, Overwatch 2 still has no publicly announced release date, so if you want more information, all you can do is keep a watchful eye on Blizzard’s social media pages for any new information about the game.
