Blizzard completely changed the mechanics of buying things in Overwatch 2 (opens in new tab), but the transition was anything but smooth. The hero shooter's transition to free-to-play coincided with the move from loot boxes to Battle Pass and a new cosmetics store that only accepts a new paid currency: overwatch coins. While the studio used to hand out loot boxes lightly, Blizzard has been surprisingly stingy with premium currency.

Overwatch Coins are a new way to unlock everything in Overwatch 2. Overwatch Coins can be purchased starting at $5 for 500 coins. This is pretty much the same setup as other live-service games, but what is less common is how Overwatch Coins are earned.

The only way to get Overwatch Coins without simply purchasing them is by completing weekly challenges. When I first heard about this, I thought it sounded interesting, but then I realized how low the rewards were. Here's how it breaks down:

In other words, there are a total of 60 Overwatch coins to be earned per week, which equates to just $0.60. To give you a sense of how little 60 cents is worth in Overwatch 2, the legendary skin bundle sells for about 2,000 coins, or $20. With only a week's worth of Overwatch coins, if you wanted to unlock Sojourn's cool detective outfit, you would have to complete every challenge every week for about nine months.

This is an insulting acquisition rate: you can find more money by diving between the couch cushions than by playing "Overwatch 2" for a week. The math is so lopsided for players that I doubt anyone at Blizzard crunched the numbers and decided that 60 coins was a cool and appreciated reward for playing "Overwatch" a lot.

I mean play "Overwatch" a lot. I play an average of 2-3 hours of "Overwatch" every night and have yet to earn all 60 coins in a week. Most challenges are doable, but there are usually challenges that I don't want to grind, like winning a bunch of arcade games (snooze) or competitive matches (no thanks). In another 40 weeks or so, I will have that Sojourn skin!

It seems I'm not the only one puzzled. Reddit user BlynxInx (opens in new tab) writes: "This is terrible.

"Battle Pass is good. It's crazy that it costs twice as much as a battle pass to buy one skin," added Specific-Moose8094.

Overwatch 2's weekly coins are even less than other Battle Passes. In other shooters I've played, advancing the $10 Premium Battle Pass can set you back a significant amount of premium currency; in Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Overwatch's cousin, Call of Duty:. Even "Warzone" can earn enough credits during the season to pay for the next Battle Pass (or purchase a bundle or two in the store.) Overwatch 2's Battle Pass includes zero Overwatch coins.

It is odd how bad Overwatch 2 is where currency is concerned, since the Battle Pass itself is reasonably fast-paced. After a few weeks of nightly sessions, I was at tier 48 out of 80. It helps that Overwatch 2 has some of the easiest daily challenges I've ever seen (some were just waving to support heroes).

As with most other games, putting currency into Battle Pass progressions would probably go a long way, but aside from him, I actually find it less frustrating to earn zero coins (or extra Battle Pass XP) than just 60 cents.