Overwatch Lead Explains Why China Gets Exclusive Skins And Events
Kotaku • • technology
Key Points:
- Overwatch has been offering China-exclusive events and cosmetics since Blizzard and NetEase resumed their publishing agreement in 2024, causing dissatisfaction among players outside China due to perceived favoritism.
- The game's 10-year anniversary event featured significantly better rewards for Chinese players, including 10 free customizable Mythic Skins, while players elsewhere received only recolored skins through lootboxes.
- Walter Kong, Blizzard’s head of development for live games and mobile, confirmed that these China-exclusive events are driven by Blizzard’s partnership structure with NetEase, which manages publishing in China.
- Kong acknowledged that Blizzard fell short in balancing the anniversary event rewards globally and emphasized the company’s intent to ensure future events are fair and considerate to all markets.
- In response to fan backlash, Blizzard has made some adjustments to the anniversary event in territories outside China to address concerns about unequal treatment.