What Are Events?

Overwatch needs new content and energy, and one way Blizzard does that is by adding events. Events include new game modes, skins, and challenges that spice up the game’s core gameplay. These events range from holiday events to original ones, such as the most recent one, Starwatch. Combined, the events can have interesting impacts on the game, but just how fun is the new content?

10. Starwatch

An epic Starwatch cover

Starwatch is the most recent event. Quite frankly, it was disappointing but interesting. In my opinion, Starwatch is the second-most interesting event behind Archives because it has intriguing concepts and character designs. The story, character work, and environment are incredible. The problem is the gameplay.

Starwatch sees the Overwatch heroes split into two sides: the Infinite and the Watchers. The Watchers are the "good guys" and the rebels against the Infinite. It’s a classic science fiction storyline with incredible visuals. The event itself is a new game mode where it’s a 4v4 match on a redesigned Horizon Lunar Colony.

Although there are unique ideas that make it special, the gameplay is lackluster and doesn’t change much. In Starwatch, 2CP is 4CP with some added environment differences like turrets, mini graviton surges, and low gravity. The concept is easily the most creative since Archives; however, since the gameplay feels unbalanced and the hero pool is tiny at best, it doesn’t make the top 5 list.

What Makes Starwatch Great

• Amazing character design
• Creative and original ideas
• Incredible voice acting
• Redesigned environments with cool new changes to HLC

Starwatch Details

• 4CP on HLC
• 4v4
• The Watchers versus the Infinite
• Low gravity during the last point
• Turrets to help the Infinite
• The Watchers get an AI-controlled Doomfist on their side

9. Battle For Olympus

Electric Battle for Olympus cover

Battle for Olympus is another recent event. It follows the Battle Pass Season 2 storyline, where Junker Queen is Zeus. Her voice lines are engaging and hilarious, making it a fun game mode with two different types: the free-for-all and the team battle.

Both modes are interesting, albeit nothing new. At least Starwatch gave us something new. This event is bland when it comes to new content, but the voice lines, skins, and overall environment make it fun to play. It doesn’t try anything outrageous, but at least it offers a good time. It’s hard not to have fun while playing this mode.

Although it doesn’t try anything new, at least it adds enough to give more flavor to the old game modes. Essentially, this is FFA with a reskin and more voice lines. However, the lore and new abilities (such as Widowmaker being able to freeze people with the Medusa skin) make it interesting enough to give it a spot in the top 10.

What Makes Battle For Olympus Great

• Interesting lore
• New voice lines that add flavor to old game modes
• New abilities such as Widowmaker’s freeze

Battle For Olympus Details

• Two game modes: FFA and team battle
• In team battle, first to 25 kills wins
• In FFA, first to 20 kills wins

8. Ultimate Valentine’s Event 2023 (Loverwatch)

Hanzo being a flirt

The Valentine’s event, or Loverwatch, is a funny and cute event that gives you new content both in and out of the game. Overwatch saw the arrival of Loverwatch in February, giving players access to an unofficial dating simulator for the game. It was funny, cute, and unexpected, giving players new titles, sprays, and skins they could unlock for the game.

Although the dating sim takes place outside the game, you can see your progress in-game with the new content added. I’ve seen many players rock the "Mercy’s Angel" or "Genji’s Peace" titles. Along with that, there are new intros and icons players could unlock during the time period.

Loverwatch was creative and added much-needed new content to Overwatch. There were players who were disgruntled over how Loverwatch wasn’t a game mode in the actual game, but the dating sim was easy to access and granted you rewards, making it a worthwhile event that was cute but not particularly memorable. Still, at the very least, it was fun.

What Makes Loverwatch Great

• Creative game mode
• New icons, titles, and more
• New and fresh storylines even though they’re not canon

7. Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man

Doomfist looking as fly as ever (pun intended)

This may be cheating since there aren’t any changes to the game modes, but this event has left its mark on the Overwatch community. This is Overwatch’s first crossover event, with new skins, voice lines, challenges, and more. Every Doomfist player had a blast with this special event.

The One Punch Man collaboration was a limited-time event that saw new skins from the One Punch Man anime. Doomfist was Saitama, the iconic character. Doomfist, Soldier 76, Kiriko, and Genji received skins for this event. You can tell Blizzard put thought and effort into this collab; considering how little thought Blizzard has put into Overwatch in recent years (cough the PVE news cough), this event was refreshing and engaging.

Overall, the challenges were the best part because they were easy and granted you new name cards, weapon charms, victory poses, and even the Soldier 76 skin. All you had to do was play games. For every four games you played, you would unlock a new cosmetic. Although this event had the least impact on gameplay, it will be remembered by the Overwatch community for a long time.

What Makes Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man Great

• Awesome voice lines
• Iconic skins
• Easy challenges

Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man Details

• Four new skins
• Six new challenges
• If you win a game, it will double your progress for the challenges

6. Winter Wonderland

Brig is chilling... literally

Now we’re getting into the core seasonal events. Winter Wonderland is the most disappointing of the six core events; however, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad event. Some of the best skins in the game came from the Winter Wonderland event, not to mention there are a variety of game modes to choose from, like the snowball fight and the Yeti Hunter.

Winter Wonderland takes place in December and sees the addition of skins, highlight intros, player icons, new game modes, and much more. Although Blizzard got lazy with events during the last few years, at least the game modes were interesting enough to warrant players coming back to play them once a year.

My personal favorite was Yeti Hunter, which was like my old favorite video game, Evolve. A team of Meis would hunt down the monster, or the yeti, Winston. Although it felt balanced in the team’s favor, a good Winston stands a strong chance against a decent team of Meis. The snowball fight is a bit forgettable for me, but I know plenty of Overwatch players enjoy throwing snowballs at each other and yelling into the mic.

Overall, Winter Wonderland is a fine event that could benefit from some more creativity. With the inclusion of the Antarctic map, there is a strong chance we’ll see more creativity this December. Either way, at least Winter Wonderland has some iconic skins and brings in new game modes for players to enjoy.

What Makes Winter Wonderland Great

• New game modes
• Awesome skin ideas
• Lots of new voice lines, highlight intros, icons, and more

Winter Wonderland Details

• Happens every December
• Multiple new game modes
• No linear structure, just do whatever you want

5. Lunar New Year

Hammond in a pile of unsafe fireworks

Like Winter Wonderland, Lunar New Year is an event that sees the inclusion of new skins, highlight intros, icons, and more. Lunar New Year is one of the more forgettable seasonal events, but it’s above Winter Wonderland because I find the game modes more fun and the aesthetics more beautiful.

The aesthetics of the Lunar New Year event are easily the best in Overwatch’s event history. The color palette tends to be darker and more mature, which stands out considering Overwatch is used to bright colors. It changes up the game and adds a new layer that we’re not used to.

Along with that, Capture the Flag (CTF) is a great addition. CTF Blitz is surprisingly fun, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like CTF-type games. Although the cosmetics aren’t as good as they are for other events, the aesthetics and fun game modes make up for the occasional lackluster cosmetic.

What Makes Lunar New Year Great

• New game modes
• Lots of new cosmetics
• New aesthetics

Lunar New Year Details

• There are three new game modes called Bounty Hunter, competitive CTF, and CTF Blitz
• Every Lunar New Year events adds new cosmetics related to what year it is (i.e., Year of the Dog)

4. Summer Games

Tracer, Zarya, and Lucio pose in their new skins

The Summer Games event has become forgettable in recent years because Blizzard hasn’t changed anything; however, for the first few years of Overwatch, Summer Games was a fantastic event with new game modes and awesome skins. Back in Overwatch’s prime, Summer Games was easily in the top 3 best events because of how much love and care was put into it.

Lucioball is one of the best event game modes because it’s essentially Rocket League in Overwatch. It’s unique and fun, with sports commentators who amp up the hype. Along with that, the maps for the arenas are colorful and add a new, fresh light to Overwatch.

I’ve found the skins for Summer Games to be very hit or miss. Some of them, especially Symmetra’s, are vibrant and creative, while others tend to look bland and rushed, like Zarya’s. Still, Summer Games packs a powerful punch despite how repetitive it is now. It was great back in the day, but there are only so many years you can do the same thing over and over again before the community yearns for something new.

What Makes Summer Games Great

• New game modes like Lucioball
• Lots of fun summer vibrance put into the game
• New maps for the Lucioball arenas

Summer Games Details

• Happens in the middle of summer every year
• Lucioball is the main attraction

3. Halloween Terror

Halloween Terror in menacing letters

Halloween is similar to Summer Games: a great event that’s only held back by how repetitive it has become. Junkenstein’s Revenge is the second-best game mode they’ve ever added to Overwatch. They put so much love and care into it. There’s lore, there’s amazing voice lines, there’s PVE, and more. Junkenstein’s Revenge is iconic in the Overwatch community because of how much fun it is.

Although there is a small hero pool, at least Junkenstein’s Revenge has interesting enemy types and voice lines that make it worthwhile. Along with that, the cosmetics are amazing. They’re always well-designed and bring something new to the game. You can tell Blizzard has a bias toward Halloween due to how awesome the skins always are.

There have been some misses over the years, and the repetitive nature of all of Overwatch’s events definitely bogs Halloween Terror down, but overall, Halloween Terror is a fun event that breathes new life into an otherwise stale game.

What Makes Halloween Terror Great

• Incredible new game mode
• Awesome lore and new comics
• Incredible skins and aesthetics

Halloween Terror Details

• Takes place during Halloween
• Junkenstein’s Revenge is the second best event game mode that is a four person team versus AI controlled enemies

2. Overwatch Anniversary

Sombra shows off her cute kitty outfit

I hesitated to put Anniversary over Halloween simply because Halloween has more new content and game modes. However, I have to admit the Anniversary cosmetics are overall better than Halloween’s, which is saying something because Halloween’s cosmetics are impressive.

Although Anniversary doesn’t add much to the base game, the event brings nostalgia to every player’s heart. Sure, the nostalgia lasts only a few seconds before the rage kicks in, but it’s the thought that counts. Anniversary is a sweet time of year with awesome cosmetics that aren’t bogged down by a theme; Blizzard can be as creative as they want, and that shows with the wide variety of skins we’ve received over the years.

The one issue I have is that Blizzard got lazy. Recently, they did “Anniversary Remixed,”, which is just a poor excuse for “We don’t want to come up with new skin ideas.” The remixed skins are pre-existing skins, but recolored. See why this is lazy? Yes, some of them look cool, but the lack of effort to add completely original cosmetics during an event with already few new changes feels like a slap in the face. Regardless, Anniversary is a fun and interesting event with arguably the best cosmetics in the game.

What Makes Overwatch Anniversary Great

• Arguably the best cosmetics in the game
• Nostalgia
• Creative cosmetic ideas

Overwatch Anniversary Details

• Typically happens around May, but has been moved to Overwatch 2’s release date
• Adds a lot of new cosmetics but few game changes

1. Overwatch Archives

Tracer, Mercy, Winston, and Genji fight omnics

This should come as no surprise to anyone. This is the only event I have no criticism for because of how awesome it is. It’s creative; it has lore; it has new voice lines; new cutscenes; new game modes; new cosmetics related to the lore of the game; leaderboards for the new game modes; and more. Overwatch Archives is miles better than every other event in the game, making it easily deserving of the top spot.

The PVE game modes are so much fun, but the most fun one is Retribution. I admit I am biased because, not to brag, I am in the top 20 on the leaderboards for Retribution. It brings me a lot of nostalgia because, with a group of my close friends, we grinded Retribution to be among the top players in the world with it.

However, more generally, the archives are solid. With three lore-filled game modes, the Archives event sees a heavy expansion of the lore with new cutscenes and storylines. Because there are three game modes, everyone has a game mode that appeals to them, depending on who they play. And, of course, the cosmetics are some of the best in the game’s history, making Archives an incredible event.

What Makes Overwatch Archives Great

• PVE game modes
• More lore
• Incredible cosmetics
• Best event game modes

Overwatch Archives Details

• Happens every April (although Overwatch 2 has not done Archives yet)
• Three new PVE game modes
• Lore-centric event

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