[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's next hero, the dual chaingun wielding Mauga, is fully playable until November 5th. After that, he'll be launching alongside Season 8 on December 5th.

[Update]: Overwatch 2's Season 7 is launching October 10th with a new Control map, Sombra rework and mythic Hanzo skin.

Overwatch 2's first anniversary is nearly upon us, so in order to get everyone into a festive mood Blizzard has now released the annual Anniversary update. As you would expect, it brings with it reruns of popular events like Lúcioball or Catch-A-Mari, as well as some fancy cosmetics that can be acquired without cracking open your wallet.

First things first, in order to make sure the various event game modes end up having a healthy playerbase, Blizzard has split them up into three weeks. Here's a quick rundown of what to expect during each one:

Week 1

• Mei’s Snowball Offense (both Elimination and Deathmatch variants)
• Yeti Hunt
• Flash Freeze
• Battle for Olympus (both Free-For-All Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch variants)

Week 2

• Return of Classic Overwatch Assault maps (Hanamura, Anubis and the like)
• Catch-A-Mari
• Starwatch: Galactic Rescue

Week 3

• Lúcioball
• Winston’s Beach Volleyball
• Mischief & Magic (prop hunt)

As for the cosmetics, I'm happy to say that the new system is quite a good one! Instead of simply getting one new cosmetic through a series of achievements, the Anniversary 2023 event has brought with it the appropriately titled Anniversary Shop that will let you trade Credits for an assortment of stylish skins like Space Raider Cassidy, Beekeeper Sigma or Hermes Lucio.

What this means is that those of you that have an absurd amount of coins from the original game can just instantly grab whatever cosmetic catches your eye. However, if you've already spent your supply, or if you're an Overwatch 2 newcomer, worry not as you'll also be able to earn up to 3,000 Credits by completing the various challenges. So regardless of what situation you find yourself in, you'll be able to get at least something interesting out of the whole event.

I can only hope Blizzard continues with this sort of system in the future as it makes revisiting the game a lot more appealing than if they simply tried to sell you a new batch of skins. Whatever the case may be, I'll make sure to let you know once the next big update goes live.

Until then, have fun with the Anniversary event!