An unfavourable Evolution.

Earlier this week, Blizzard released a new trailer for an upcoming event in Overwatch. Called 'Defiled Anthem', the event features skins and cosmetics for Shion, D.Mon, Kiriko, Reaper, and Emre, with the highlight of the whole activation culminating in a transforming 'Evolution' skin that changes sound effects and visual effects as the match goes on. The only catch? These new skins and cosmetics are China-specific and have not been announced for the rest of the world. This has happened in the past with a Naraka: Bladepoint crossover, as well as exclusive skins for Pharah and Mercy.

Player sentiment, as you can imagine, has been negative: take a look at any Overwatch-focused subreddit or social media account, and you'll see the same complaints cropping up. But why does this happen? Why does Blizzard put out these skins in one region when it knows fans in another are going to complain?

Earlier this year, in an interview with IGN, Blizzard’s head of development for live games, Walter Kong, explained that the addition of Chinese-only skins is largely because of the studio's relationship with Chinese publisher Netease, which handles the promotion and management of the game in the region.

"I think NetEase has the responsibility of publishing our game in China, and part of their approach is to do things that are specific to that market," Kong explained. "And the approach that we want to take is to make sure that our game makes players feel cared for, no matter the market. And I think we fell short of the mark with this current event, but it does mean that as we look forward to future events and activations, we have a very specific view that 'Is this just the right way to run the event?' and from the perspective of holistically, 'How do things balance out?'"

There's a pervasive feeling amongst international players of Overwatch that Chinese fans are 'treated better' than they perhaps are. In the past, players in the region would get free skins that were locked behind battle passes or needing buying in non-Chinese markets. In the past few days, these negative feelings have surfaced again; Reddit threads ask "what's the deal with [Overwatch] China?" whilst players on the dedicated Blizzard forums make accusations about 2023's Japanese character, Shion, being "supposedly claimed by NetEase".

"The problem isn’t about players receiving exclusive content," suggested one person on the Blizzard forums. "It's about Blizzard blatantly throwing in our faces that they're prioritising one region over others. It’s not about the content itself, but the Overwatch devs/designers/staff are preoccupied with only paying attention to China as if it were the only relevant player base. [...] Blizzard owns the Overwatch IP; these changes to exclusive content certainly have Blizzard's full approval."

Despite how Western players complain about their treatment compared to Chinese players, the game isn't without criticisms in that region either. The gacha system in Chinese Overwatch is different to the one the rest of the world uses, and it's managed by NetEase. It is more expensive, and has a 'pity cap' (a mechanic that delivers items to you once you've spent a certain amount) that performs differently to the US or Europe, which is seen as more punishing by local players.

Per one dedicated mathematician, you need to spend approximately 1,080 Yuan - $162/£123 - to ensure you pull the sought-after 'Evolution' skin for Shion in this event. Thanks to its 0.02 percent rarity, you require something like 80 to 90 gacha 'pulls' to exhaust the pool of available items before acquiring the cosmetic. That cost, as it happens, is exactly what one unlucky player spent trying to acquire Jetpack Cat's 'Evolution' skin back in August. The upside? Chinese players can resell skins; and from what I can see right now, the Shinon 'Evolution' skin seems to be selling for about 670 Yuan, or $100/£75.

I reached out to Blizzard for comment ahead of this story's publication, but the company did not reply.

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