Overwatch Winter Wonderland brings legendary skins, winter game mode

Olivia Richman Published 10/12/2019

After a brief delay, Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland update should be arriving tonight.

For a while, fans wondered if there would even be a Winter Wonderland update anymore, but Blizzard vice president Jeff Kaplan dispelled those rumors on the game’s forum.

“We’ve been seeing quite a bit of misinformation being spread about our December patch. The patch is scheduled to go live next week. Short of some unforeseen circumstance causing a delay, we’re expecting to go live with the patch next week. I’m guessing everyone is as excited as we are for the changes to go live as soon as possible along with Winter Wonderland,” Kaplan said.

Overwatch Winter Wonderland skins

The major update will bring over 140 cosmetics to the game, most of which have already been shared by Blizzard or leaked before launch. This, of course, means new skins. One of the most anticipated new skins has been Rime Sigma, a legendary skin that Overwatch teased on December 9.

The response on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive, with many fans even saying it was the coolest skin they’d ever seen while others compared it to World of Warcraft’s Arthas character.

Rime Sigma was leaked last week, along with a handful of other skins. The leaker referred to Sigma’s skin as “frost.” They also revealed Reaper as the “Rat King,” Solder: 76 in an ugly Christmas sweater, Moira sporting red and green, “Jotun” Doomfist, and McCree and Mercy in some warm winter attire.

Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland game modes

The Winter Wonderland game mode won’t be revealed for another few hours, but it will most likely be one of the two game modes released in past winter-themed events.

Mei Snowball Offensive is a likely option. In this arcade mode, everyone plays as Mei. Her weapon is exchanged for a snowball launcher. Players are eliminated when they are hit with a snowball, collected form piles of snow around the map. The remaining team wins.

Yeti Hunter is another winter game mode that revolves around Mei. Five players become Mei, grouping up together on the hunt for the Yeti Winston. As the player being Winston goes around the map collecting giant steaks, the pack of Mei’s hunt him in hopes of freezing him “for science.”

So far, it’s unclear which of these game modes will be available in the update. There’s also a possibility that a new game mode may even surprise players.

Winter Wonderland will most likely go live at 10 or 11 am PST.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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