Even if you didn’t play the first Overwatch, chances are you’re familiar with its skins. Famous skins like Witch Mercy and Dragon Symmetra have transcended the bounds of fandom, encouraging people who’d never played Overwatch to give the game a try. New skins were some of the most exciting parts of the first game, where they were distributed through seasonal events, challenges, and even charity drives.
Overwatch 2 plans to drive the same community-wide excitement over its skins, many of which will be introduced through the new in-game shop and battle pass as well as through the continuation of seasonal events. But those who weren’t able to grab all the skins they wanted to in the first game are wondering how many of them will be available in Overwatch 2—if any are available at all.
Here’s everything you need to know about obtaining Overwatch skins in Overwatch 2.
How to get Overwatch 1 skins in Overwatch 2
On release, a handful of skins from the first Overwatch are available for each hero. Most of them are base legendary and epic skins that were always open for purchase in the first game. These skins are denoted in the Hero Gallery by a price written in gray text, which means that they can only be purchased with legacy currency. If you merged your accounts before opening Overwatch 2, you should have access to all of your currency from the previous game. You can see how much you have of each currency by selecting the number in the upper-right corner of the Hero Gallery.
Some heroes also have legendary event skins that are still available for sale. These can also be purchased through the Hero Gallery, but with the new Overwatch coins currency rather than the legacy currency. If you need more Overwatch coins, you can purchase them with real money through Overwatch 2’s shop. Not every previous event skin is available, so be sure to check your favorite heroes to see if any are available that you don’t already have.
If an old Overwatch skin that you don’t want isn’t available, don’t despair. Blizzard confirmed in a blog post that some old cosmetics will be available for purchase on a rotating basis in the shop. The Just for You section of the shop, which is unique for each player and highlights cosmetics based on the heroes they like to play and the items they like to equip, may feature old cosmetics, as will some of the bundles in the shop’s featured section. This will apparently only happen for the first few seasons, so make sure you check back frequently if there’s something you have to have.
If you want to see whether an old skin might come around in the shop, go back to the Hero Gallery and select a past event skin that you don’t own on any of the heroes. If it says “Sometimes available in the shop” in the bottom-right section of the screen, you might have another chance to grab that skin from the shop. When these old cosmetics appear, they will presumably require Overwatch coins to purchase rather than legacy currency.
