Overwatch 2 is celebrating one year since the IP made the move to a free-to-play model with the returning Anniversary event. For the next three weeks, past limited-time Arcade modes will return to the game including Battle for Olympus, Mischief & Magic, Summer Games, and more. Assault maps like Hanamura and Temple of Anubis will also show up in the Arcade in week two. You’ll also have access to a bunch of limited-time skins to grab as well.
While this is the first time Overwatch 2 is bringing the Anniversary event in, the first game had always held celebrations in May. With the “sequel” releasing around this time last year, it made sense to move it to a new time slot in the calendar.
Generally, the Anniversary event is always great for getting access to events outside of their normal run times. One of our favorite things about Overwatch 2 is that Blizzard is incorporating new events at times outside of holidays. In the first game, something like Battle for Olympus would never happen because it didn’t fit in with one of the holidays.
While it is great to have access to this content again, there are notable missions missing. From a look at the blog post, there is no mention of Archive missions coming back at this time. In the past, the Archives event was essentially the prelude to the story missions we have now. Since Overwatch 2 came out, we haven’t had access to those missions again and the Archives event was skipped this year. Hopefully, those will be available again full-time since we have the new Missions tab available. Also, it doesn’t look like content from past battle passes will be available either, just certain events.
Regardless, if you are an Overwatch fan, you should enjoy the Anniversary event by jumping into your favorite Arcade mode when it is available before they are locked away in the vault again.
