Overwatch 2 is going in for round two of its Loverwatch dating sim—it first appeared two years ago on February 13. While this new iteration includes more heroes like Junker Queen and Mauga, it is, unfortunately, only available for players in China.
The original Loverwatch only had two romance options, Genji or Mercy, with a secret ending that involved you romancing Hanzo, who was posed as Cupid. But this time there are way more options. D.Va is taking centre stage for this event with Juno, Cassidy, Junker Queen, Genji, Mauga, and Lifeweaver all being romance options.
That alone is enough to make me green with envy, what do you mean I've been blocked from trying to romance Junker Queen? A sentiment that is apparently shared by at least one other player with impeccable taste: "If [Junker Queen] killed me wearing that skin, I'd thank her."
But players aren't just missing out on romancing heroes; there's also a worry that we could be losing out on new skins as well. "The new Chinese 'Loverwatch' event is something else," rvnsay says. "If these are going to be skins, and only for China, we've been robbed so bad."
Chinese new "Loverwatch" event is something else. If these are going to be a skin, and only for China exclusive, we're robbed so bad... from r/Overwatch
The first Loverwatch may have only had icons, a highlight intro, and some titles as rewards, but there was also the Cupid Hanzo skin available to purchase in the shop, a costume based on Hanzo's Loverwatch outfit. This skin was available to everyone, but only as part of the event.
So there's a precedent for Blizzard taking ideas from Loverwatch and making them into actual skins for players to get. Almost all of the new Loverwatch heroes in question also have pretty transferable outfits, with the only exception being Genji.
The Kimono that Genji's wearing in the Loverwatch promo isn't close enough to his in-game silhouette for it to make it into the game with zero alterations, although his suit could be made into a skin, as his outfits are quite skin-tight.
Retaining the same silhouette across different skins is an absolute must for Overwatch heroes. With a game that progresses as quickly as Overwatch does, it's crucial that players are able to identify what hero is flying towards them in a split second and then respond accordingly. Too many variations in hero skins would cause far too much confusion for those actually playing the game and not just playing the dating sim.
With that said, just because this event isn't currently available for anyone outside of China doesn't mean that it never will be. There's a good chance that this is a NetEase project, but I'm still cautiously optimistic that it means we could be getting another Loverwatch alongside new skins when Valentine's Day rolls around again.
