Less than a month after its Winter Wonderland event, Blizzard is already back with a new seasonal celebration for players to enjoy. Teased last week on the Overwatch Twitter account, the latest event will celebrate the Chinese New Year from January 24th through February 13th with a host of new game modes and unlockable cosmetics.
The biggest addition is a “Capture the Rooster” brawl, which marks the first time that the classic capture the flag game type has made its way to Overwatch. And like in other seasonal events, the Lijiang Tower map (set in China) has received a celebratory makeover to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.
Akin to previous events, the event skins, icons, emotes, sprays, and other unlockables can be earned through Lunar New Year Loot Boxes, which are earned the same way that regular Loot Boxes are: by leveling up in-game, winning Arcade matches, and of course, purchasing them for real money. Each Lunar New Year Loot Box, whether earned or bought, contain four randomized items, but at least one per box will be guaranteed to be one of the Year of the Rooster event items.
But enough about all that. Let’s talk about what’s really important here: the skins. Blizzard appears to be making up for the perceived snub that Mei received during the Winter Event with two new Chinese New Year outfits, along with Tracer, Symmetra, Mercy, Junkrat, Ana, and Bastion, who are all receiving red-and-gold wardrobes to celebrate the season. Meanwhile, as our friends over at Polygon have noted, Roadhog, Reinhardt, Winston, and Zenyatta have received more drastic makeovers in the style of characters from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Lastly, D.va is getting a spectacular looking Year of the Rooster-themed mech with the event, along with a celebratory dress for when she’s running around outside her mech. May the Loot Box random number generator be in your favor.