Blizzard is rolling back the clock on Overwatch 2 and reintroducing loot boxes in Season 15. If you thought the industry had learned its lesson about gambling mechanics in games, think again. While these loot boxes can’t be purchased directly, make no mistake—this is not some innocent “player-friendly” move. This is psychological warfare, and it works.
The Gambling Hook – Why It Works So Well
Loot boxes tap into one of the oldest tricks in the book: variable reward schedules. It’s the same principle that keeps people glued to slot machines in Las Vegas. You don’t win every time, but the unpredictability of what you might get keeps you coming back for more. Every time you open one, you get that dopamine hit. It’s why games like Genshin Impact and FIFA Ultimate Team rake in billions.
Blizzard knows this. They removed loot boxes when Overwatch 2 launched because they were a PR nightmare and a regulatory risk. So why bring them back now? Because the math is undeniable: loot boxes increase player engagement and retention. Players will grind longer, log in more often, and Blizzard benefits without having to overtly sell them.
“You Can’t Buy Them” – But You Can Buy the Battle Pass
Blizzard isn’t making loot boxes purchasable outright, but there’s a catch—two legendary loot boxes are locked behind the premium battle pass. This is the classic foot-in-the-door strategy. Give players a taste of the excitement through free loot boxes, then nudge them toward the premium pass for better ones.
You see, if loot boxes didn’t work, if they didn’t trigger that compulsive desire to chase rare rewards, Blizzard wouldn’t have brought them back at all. But they did. Because the numbers don’t lie. The hooks are there—scarcity, randomness, fear of missing out (FOMO). The only thing missing is direct purchases, and let’s be honest, it’s only a matter of time before some variant of that returns too.
We Shouldn’t Enable Addictions
Whether you personally love or hate loot boxes is irrelevant. The problem is they exploit psychological vulnerabilities. They tap into addiction mechanisms that can lead to excessive playtime, spending, and unhealthy engagement. It’s not about rewarding effort or skill—it’s about dangling the possibility of something rare and letting players spiral into a cycle of “just one more pull.”
Blizzard isn’t doing this because they want players to have fun. They’re doing it because it keeps players engaged in a way that just playing the game no longer does. And when the motivation shifts from “playing for fun” to “chasing the next hit of dopamine,” we’re playing the game for the wrong reasons.
So yeah, Overwatch 2 is bringing back loot boxes. And yeah, they technically aren’t selling them directly. But the strategy is the same: dangle the reward, create the addiction, and drive engagement. And that’s a problem.
