It is important to keep in mind what is going on within Activision Blizzard at this time regarding ongoing allegations about the work culture. The ongoing lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the company is over reported toxic workplace culture. The bulk of the suit focuses on “violations of the state’s civil rights and equal pay laws,” specifically regarding the treatment of women and other marginalized groups. To learn more about the proceedings thus far, including details listed in the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, please check out our previous coverage here.
It’s that holiday time of the year which means another Overwatch Winter Wonderland event is now live, bringing with it new and fan-favorite game modes, eight new skins to the hero shooter, and more.
As usual, there are multiple wintery modes now available to queue into in Overwatch. In Freezethaw Elimination, two teams of four face-off, and whoever can freeze the entire enemy team first wins. In Mei’s Snowball Offensive, two teams of six Mei’s face off with a new perk of her usual gun: instead of an endothermic blaster, Mei’s weapon now shoots a single, super-powered snowball. Everyone dies in one hit, too, but charging up a snowball takes time, so don’t miss.
In Snowball Deathmatch, eight players will face off in a free-for-all match where everyone can store up to three lethal snowballs in Mei’s blaster. Defeat as many enemies as you can with these snowballs but aim well because reloading snowballs takes time. The final Winter Wonderland event is Yeti Hunter, which is a six-player brawl that pits five Meis against one Yeti with Winston’s abilities. If the players defeat the Yeti, they win, but if the Yeti defeats the players, they lose.
Throughout all of this, players can earn unique rewards just by playing matches. Here’s what you can earn in Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.
Week 1 – December 16 through December 23:
- Play 9 Games: Wooltide Tracer Player Icon
- Play 18 Games: Wooltide Tracer Spray
- Play 27 Games: Wooltide Tracer Epic Skin
Week 2 – December 23 through December 30
- Play 9 Games: Mistletoe Symmetra Player Icon
- Play 18 Games: Mistletoe Symmetra Spray
- Play 27 Games: Mistletoe Symmetria Epic Skin
Week 3 – December 30 through January 6:
- Play 9 Games: Peppermint Bark Brigitte Player Icon
- Play 18 Games: Peppermint Bark Brigitte Spray
- Play 27 Games: Peppermint Bark Brigitte Epic Skin
As far as skins available in loot boxes, there are eight new ones: Ice Wraith (Genji), Reindeer (Orisa), Sleighing (D.VA), Snowboarder (Baptiste), Snowman (Wrecking Ball), Mistletoe (Symmetra), Peppermint Bark (Brigitte), and Wooltide (Tracer). Here’s what each looks like:
Skins first released in previous Winter Wonderland events for Overwatch are also available. You can view all the skins in this year’s event, as well as the emotes and intros in loot boxes, here.
Are you jumping into this year’s Winter Wonderland event? Let us know in the comments below!
