Olivia Cavallaro Games 09.09.2022 07:Sep AM EDT

'Overwatch 2' Will Require Battle Pass to Unlock New Heroes, Leak Reveals

Gamers will reportedly have to either play their way to unlock new characters or pay a fee to access them.

Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch 2 is arriving less than a month from now and a new leak revealed some important details about the first-person shooter sequel. According to details about the game's battle pass design that were recently leaked, the studio has significantly changed the way new heroes will be rolled out.

According to Polygon, new heroes in Overwatch 2 will no longer be available to players when the game arrives on October 4 and will instead be unlocked by playing through the free battle pass track or just buying the characters. The leak also revealed the name of Overwatch 2's newest hero, Kiriko, a support-class character who appeared in the sequel's trailers.

New Details on 'Overwatch 2' Upcoming Characters Emerge

The latest information on the highly anticipated Overwatch 2 and its battle pass details were unveiled in a description found in Blizzard Entertainment's website for the game's Watchpoint Pack, which is a paid version of the free-to-play game. The pack includes more goodies such as cosmetics, a premium battle pass for Season 1, and other perks.

Blizzard Entertainment has since removed the description, which said players can "unlock over 80 tiers of rewards including Mythic Cyber Demon Genji, Legendary Hinotori Kiriko, and more" through the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass. It added that this will also provide instant access to the new hero named Kiriko.

'Overwatch 2' Fans Disgruntled at Gated New Characters

Fans were unhappy to learn that the new heroes for Overwatch 2 will no longer be made available upon launch to all players and will instead be locked behind a gate. They raised concerns over the new format, arguing that it is no longer in line with the original game design and that it would affect gameplay. This was precisely the reason why Overwatch was released as a full-priced game back in 2016.

Blizzard Entertainment did some clarifying, as Overwatch commercial leader and vice president Jon Spector took to Twitter to clarify that the leaked information was "incomplete" and that the company would formally release information ahead of the launch on October 4, Engadget reported. Spector also confirmed that new heroes for Overwatch 2 "will be available on the free track of the Battle Pass."

Overwatch 2 was first announced by game director Jeff Kaplan during BlizzCon in November 2019. At the time, the company said that the upcoming game will feature story missions just like Overwatch's seasonal events, hero missions, co-op modes that can be played again, and customizable heroes. The upcoming game is also expected to have a new PvP mode called Push, as well as an array of new heroes and new maps, IGN reported.

Overwatch 2 also brings forth the introduction of Sojourn, a new playable character who is also the first Canadian hero who will be the main character the sequel will revolve around. Players should also look forward to exploring three new maps called Toronto, Gothenburg and Monte Carlo.