Overwatch 2 players are confirming that they're finally receiving certain rewards from watching the Overwatch League playoffs a month ago. Blizzard offering dozens of Overwatch League skins for watching the most recent post-season matches was initially very warmly received by players. It has since turned into somewhat of a fiasco, as not only were many Overwatch 2 players unable to properly connect their YouTube accounts but those that did have had their rewards delayed significantly.
The Overwatch League playoffs aired between October 30 and November 4. To boost viewership numbers, Blizzard promised that players would receive significant rewards for watching as much of the event as they could. Not only would they receive extra League Tokens, which can be spent on certain skins in the Overwatch 2 shop, but Overwatch League skins would be rewarded for every three hours viewed. This included a final bonus of skins for Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko, Overwatch 2's newest heroes.
Blizzard had a problem, however. Even with linked accounts, it made clear that rewards would not be granted to Overwatch 2 accounts immediately. That short delay for rewards, for many, has turned into a month of not receiving rewards. A Blizzard Support response shared on Reddit just this past week even went so far as to say that Overwatch 2 players that hadn't received rewards yet would not be getting them, as they must not have been eligible. Luckily, that doesn't appear to be true.
In a Reddit thread shared on Sunday, players are confirming that they've now received the rewards that they've been waiting for since the Overwatch League Grand Finals four weeks ago. It's possible that these rewards were always intended to be released so late, or it's possible that only certain players had their rewards delayed. It isn't entirely clear. Many of the comments claim that they still haven't received their rewards at all.
While much about the situation remains confusing, one thing that Blizzard has communicated is that the Overwatch League Sojourn skin reward has not gone out to anyone yet. That skin should go out with next week's patch for Overwatch 2 Season 2. Blizzard must have needed to finish it or fix it before it was shared with players.
The situation has led to many Overwatch 2 players asking Blizzard not to renew its Overwatch League streaming exclusivity deal with YouTube. The deal is assumed to be up soon, potentially in January. The deal was already heavily criticized, as esports fans watch across many different platforms and YouTube took that option away. That account connectivity with YouTube played a role in Overwatch 2 player frustrations has only worsened views of the situation. Perhaps next season's Overwatch League will work out better.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.