‘It doesn’t quite hit the same’: Overwatch players aren’t vibing with the new loot boxes

Loot boxes are back in Overwatch 2, but they’re not exactly hitting players with that rush of nostalgia Blizzard probably hoped for. Instead of rekindling fond memories of the OG loot box openings, players are finding the whole experience underwhelming.

It turns out that the grand return of loot boxes has come with some letdowns. The new animation? Lackluster. The reward distribution? Not great. The delayed claims for the free loot boxes from the Discord Quest? Frustrating, as I experienced myself. Even with the excitement of earning free cosmetics, the community isn’t exactly thrilled.

In season 15, loot boxes have returned as free rewards through weekly event challenges, the battle pass, and a Discord Quest. On paper, that sounds like a win. After all, people have been asking for them to come back ever since Overwatch 2 ditched them in favor of a battle pass.

But when players actually opened their hard-earned loot boxes, the magic wasn’t there. Instead of the original Overwatch’s flashy reveal, the new system fades to black before slapping a list of your rewards on the left side of the screen. The most “exciting” item gets a preview on the right, but you have to click through the list to see everything else. It’s a far cry from the old spectacle that showcased all your loot at once.

“The loot box animation is like the build-up of a sneeze and then not actually sneezing,” one Reddit user said. Others are speculating that Blizzard didn’t finish the animation in time for season 15’s launch, “Apparently they’re working on bringing that animation back, it just wasn’t finished in time for S15’s launch,” another redditor added. “Which is weird considering it’s an animation from OW1 but I digress.”

Another user suggested that the new engine is the reason for the missing animation, but there may be some hope for a proper loot box opening sequence. A Blizzard forum user claimed a Blizzard artist in a stream chat said the current animation is just a placeholder while the developers work on bringing back the old animation.

If true, that could explain why the experience feels so unfinished. But without any official statement from Blizzard, this remains pure speculation.

Even if the animation isn’t what players hoped for, there’s still the thrill of getting cool skins, right? Well… kind of.

Players have been grinding out their 10 free loot boxes (15 with the Discord quest), only to be disappointed by their rewards. “Grounded out the 10 free loot boxes and had awful luck,” one frustrated player shared. “3 skins out of 40 items… But that’s just how it goes and that’s the fun of opening them.”

The replies? Mostly variations of “hey, that’s 40 free items you weren’t gonna get before, lol.”

While it’s true that free cosmetics are better than no cosmetics, the issue is loot boxes are meant to be exciting. If the drop rates feel too harsh, there’s less incentive for players to engage with the battle pass and events. A small boost to the rarity odds—especially for Legendary skins—could make a huge difference.

Loot boxes are supposed to be fun, but right now, they feel more like an unfinished afterthought. Hopefully, Blizzard considers tweaking the drop rates slightly and taking a second look at the animation.