Blizzard just announced that the Winter Wonderland update for Overwatch 2 has arrived and brings more rewards to the game along with new 6v6 experimentation.
The official start date for the holiday-themed update is Dec. 17, 2024, and will feature new Arcade modes. They pit players against each other in three different winter brawls. These include Mei's Snowball Offensive.
Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland Update
In this particular mode, players will see snowballs continuously flying across the screen while they play 5v5 elimination and free-for-all matches.
On the other hand, Mei's Yeti Hunt requires five players to work together to plant traps and capture the Yeti, who is simply Winston in a Yeti skin.
The third mode is Freeze Flash Elimination, which is basically Overwatch 2's own version of the game freeze tag. In this mode, players who get frozen can still rejoin the match if their teammates can thaw them out in time.
The game's 6v6 mode is also now on the King's Row map and will feature a role queue format along with 2-2-2 rules. The latter means that teams will have to be split into an equal number of tanks, damage, and support characters, according to Game Spot.
Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland update also adds a lot of new holiday-themed skins that players can earn for their beloved characters.
When you play three, six, and nine games, you will be rewarded with the Merry Marionette Echo legendary, Cassidy's legendary, and Widowmanker's legendary skins, respectively.
Skins You Can Earn
The latest update for Overwatch 2 comes as the holiday season is already here, and many other games have also received similarly-themed content. These include Stellar Blade and Astro Bot, which add to the festivities.
Blizzard's hero shooter has long featured the Winter Wonderland celebrations since the game was originally released in 2016.
On top of the festivities, players are also able to play the ninth edition of the classic Overwatch event that started on Dec. 10, 2024, Game Rant said.
While the Winter Wonderland update is already here, players will have to wait until Dec. 19, 2024, before they can start earning the three available skins. What makes this noteworthy is that it is three times the usual number of free skins from this particular event.
The latest event will last until the middle of January 2025 and features several maps being decorated with a Christmas theme.
On top of the three earnable skins, players can also purchase the Jingle Bell Mercy skin in the in-game shop, according to Esports Illustrated.