Overwatch 2’s Bundles And Discounts Are Illegal In Multiple Countries

Overwatch 2 has been pulling in plenty of players since launch, but that doesn’t mean the game’s troubles are over. Players are still irritated by the game’s monetization methods, made all the more obvious by the ongoing Halloween event which is asking players for at least $20 for a single hero’s skin. In fact, it’s so bad that players are actually wishing for loot boxes to return, something which the first game was heavily criticized for by some portions of the community.

Adding insult to injury is the “discounts” and bundles attached to some characters as, for example, Kiriko’s Halloween skin is currently priced at $26 due to it being only available via a bundle, and is apparently listed as 29% off too. If it sounds a little suspicious that a newly released skin is supposedly already on offer and exclusive to a bundle, some countries may actually agree with you. As pointed out by Redditor Nirxx, this form of monetization is actually illegal depending on where you live.

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As Nirxx explains, certain countries don’t allow companies to mark down the prices of their products until they’ve been available at the regular price for a certain amount of time. They also state that some countries force companies to make sure everything that is included in a certain bundle is available individually as well, meaning depending on where you live, Overwatch 2’s monetization methods are breaking the law.

Several skins in Overwatch 2 are discounted immediately upon release, while skins only available in bundles like Kiriko’s Halloween skin are considered as anti-consumer practices in some places. It makes sense really, especially when you consider both of these tactics are likely used to convince people to buy skins before the arbitrary discount runs out, or fork up more money for a bundle when you only want one item inside it.

Nirxx doesn’t list every single country where this applies, but does mention that those that consider the practice illegal include Brazil and Australia. Other users in the same thread also point out that the practice is illegal in both the United Kingdom and Canada as well, urging those that wish to do so to report Blizzard to the relevant authorities.

Considering the practice is actually illegal in quite high-profile countries such as the UK and Canada, if enough people kick up a stink over Blizzard’s antics then we might actually see the game’s bundles get dropped, or at least make it so Blizzard can’t gate certain items inside of them to force players to spend more money. The thread bringing the legality of Blizzard’s bundles to attention has racked up a fair amount of support, but only time will tell if this has any impact on the game itself.

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