10 Things Blizzard Want You To Forget

Overwatch is one of this generation's defining video games. The colourful hero shooter beautifully blends addictive gameplay, tight as a nut controls and an interesting character roster that allows players of all preferences to enjoy playing the game.

Overwatch's character roster also promotes people of all backgrounds, from LGBTQIA+ characters like Tracer and Soldier: 76 through to people on the autistic spectrum like Symmetra, showing them as strong and capable. Overwatch has had many positive influences on the video game landscape.

However, Overwatch was also one of the first AAA titles to include a loot box system.

Now, Overwatch's loot box system is by no means the most offensive example. There are no power upgrades or exclusive game-changing items locked away, just cosmetics. What Overwatch's loot box system does is shows the likes of parent company Activision and EA just how profitable this market is. For example, the last quarter of 2019 showed EA making nearly $1 billion on these types of transactions.

Overwatch's use of a loot box system can be seen as a sign of things to come in retrospect, culminating in 2017 with the great loot box controversies of single-player game Middle Earth: Shadows of War and initially pay-to-win Star Wars: Battlefront 2.