Overwatch 2 Brings Back Transformers Collab, But There’s a Catch

Overwatch 2 has officially brought back its Transformers crossover, but this time, it hasn’t included any of the in-game challenges from the first run. Though the four Transformers collaboration skins are back in the Overwatch 2 cash shop, the free rewards available during the original iteration are nowhere to be found.

On July 9, 2024, Overwatch 2 began a crossover event with Transformers during Season 11, Super Mega Ultrawatch. Like most collaborations, the Overwatch 2 x Transformers event consisted of two parts: new Legendary skins in the cash shop, and an in-game event with gameplay challenges and free rewards.

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Overwatch 2 Transformers Collab Missing In-Game Challenges

Now, over a year later, Transformers has come back to Overwatch 2, but the collaboration event is missing something significant. The four Legendary Overwatch 2 x Transformers skins – Optimus Prime Reinhardt, Arcee Illari, Bumblebee Bastion, and Megatron Ramattra – are back with their respective bundles, but the in-game challenges and their respective rewards are not a part of the rerun.

During the initial run, there were six of these challenges that provided rewards at intervals after every 20 completed games. By reaching these milestones, fans could earn Autobot and Decepticon-themed Player Icons, Name Cards, and Player Titles, along with 30,000 Battle Pass XP. Unless Overwatch 2 surprises fans by bringing these challenges back later or awarding them elsewhere, these collaboration cosmetics will be unobtainable, despite the event’s return.

Of the four collaboration events that have returned, this is the only one to have less content than the original. The second Cowboy Bebop event was identical to the first one, and the LE SSERAFIM and One Punch Man collaboration reruns in Overwatch 2 actually added extra stuff in the form of new skins, though the former was technically a proper sequel crossover. It is currently unclear why these reruns have been inconsistent with what they have brought back, or what Overwatch 2’s plan will be for future ones.

Regardless, the second Transformers collab has left a lot of players disappointed, especially considering it arrived not long after the One Punch Man rerun and its new Garou Wuyang and Hellish Blizzard Ashe skins. Overwatch 2 even scrapped several Transformers skin ideas during the first run, including Starscream Pharah, Soundwave Lucio, and Unicron Wrecking Ball, any of which fans would have loved to see in the second round. The lack of new skins, coupled with the omission of the in-game challenges and rewards, has been a let-down for many players.

Though it took a few breaks between the original One Punch Man collaboration in Season 3 and the Diablo and LE SSERAFIM crossovers in Overwatch 2 Season 7, it has otherwise had at least one collab event in every season since Season 9, with some even having two. Season 19 broke this record, instead having reruns of One Punch Man, and now Transformers. There are still technically a few weeks left in the season, but it seems very unlikely that a new collaboration will be announced before it ends.

All Overwatch 2 Collaboration Events As of Season 19

Season 20 is coming on December 9, bringing a brand-new hero to Overwatch 2 in the form of Vendetta. It remains to be seen if there will be a new collaboration event in the update, or if any old ones might return, so fans will have to keep their eyes peeled ahead of its release to see what Overwatch 2 plans to do next.

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence