Many Overwatch players didn't feel like it was a celebration at all.
Overwatch’s 10-year anniversary should have been a huge moment for Blizzard’s hero shooter, but many players instead walked away disappointed by the rewards on offer.
Blizzard officially kicked off Overwatch’s anniversary celebrations on 12 May, with an in-game event running until 1 June. The event includes 21 Epic recolour skins for the game’s original launch heroes, 15 Anniversary loot boxes, weekly Legendary loot boxes through community challenges, and additional cosmetics like sprays and weapon charms.
However, shortly after the rewards were revealed, players flooded Reddit and X with complaints over what many felt was a surprisingly small celebration for such a major milestone. The criticism only grew louder after players began comparing the global anniversary rewards to rewards being handed out in China, where Overwatch’s local 10-year anniversary event reportedly includes dozens of Legendary skins, multiple Mythic skins, and premium currencies.
Why are Overwatch players upset about the 10-year anniversary rewards?
A large part of the backlash comes down to expectations. For many players, a 10-year anniversary felt like the perfect time for Blizzard to go bigger with rewards, especially given Overwatch’s long history and continued live-service support.
One Reddit thread that gained major traction summed up the mood bluntly. In a post titled “70-billion-dollar company can’t afford to make a decent 10th anniversary event,” Reddit user Denariox wrote. “It's like you wanna love and support this game as much as you can because you enjoy playing it, and then you get slapped in the face for being a part of the community for the past decade of your life,” they added.
The post quickly gained more than a thousand upvotes as other players echoed similar frustrations.
Some players pointed out that Blizzard had previously handed out Mythic Prism rewards during earlier events, making the anniversary rewards feel even more underwhelming by comparison. “Not even like 20 prism shards like they gave out last year. China gets 10 mythics while we get stuck with recolours,” Redditor cresten commented.
Another player, Dreaming_Ares, argued that the disappointment was less about free items and more about the lack of celebration surrounding the occasion itself:
“I dont even necessarily care about getting free sh**. Its just wrong for the game to hit 10 years with basically no celebration or ceremony.” They continued ranting and calling out the devs of the game. “Overwatch! Its your TENTH ANNIVERSARY! Are you so against players' getting something without paying for it that you'll cancel your own party?! This is for you too!”
That gap quickly became one of the biggest talking points across social media. On X (formerly Twitter), user @kenstannie compared the event unfavourably to celebrations from other live-service games, saying, “This is genuinely the worst anniversary ever how do you manage to be greedier than Genshin.”
Another player, LorenzoTheDrow, joked about previously criticising Dead by Daylight anniversaries before seeing Overwatch’s event: “First anniversary here. I thought dbd [Dead by Daylight] was sh****. Damn, recolors of defaults… and they said Rivals is the ONLY reason they stepped up.”
Are China-exclusive rewards for Overwatch's 10th anniversary actually better?
Fueling the backlash further was news surrounding Overwatch China’s anniversary rewards. According to players discussing the event online, Chinese players are receiving 40 Legendary skins, nine Mythic skins, loot boxes containing Mythic Prisms, Overwatch Coins, and additional cosmetics throughout the month.
Amid the growing comparisons, one Chinese player posted a lengthy explanation on Reddit arguing that the situation surrounding China-exclusive cosmetics is more complicated than many overseas players realise.
The player explained that many cosmetics in China have historically been tied to aggressive monetisation systems involving lotteries, gacha mechanics, and expensive limited-time bundles, rather than simple direct purchases.
In the post, the player referenced the China-exclusive Naraka: Bladepoint crossover event, claiming that completing the collection could cost between 600 and 750 RMB (roughly US$85 to US$105), while an ultra-rare Widowmaker skin allegedly became so difficult to obtain that some accounts or codes were reportedly resold for around 2000 RMB (roughly US$275).
The Redditor argued that many Chinese players were also unhappy with these systems, saying overseas players often only see the exclusive rewards themselves without seeing the monetisation structure attached to them.
“A lot of Chinese players weren’t celebrating these monetization systems… many genuinely hated them,” the player wrote.
They added that they aren’t “saying people outside China can’t feel disappointed about missing cosmetics.” However, they also believe that “the situation is more complicated than ‘China got all the good stuff.’”
Despite those explanations, frustration surrounding Overwatch’s anniversary rewards continues to spread across social media and community forums, with many players arguing that Blizzard missed an opportunity to properly celebrate one of gaming’s biggest hero shooters.
Blizzard has yet to respond to player complaints.
