The Winter Wonderland event in Overwatch has returned for another year as 2019 starts to wind down. The holiday-themed event takes place from December 10, 2019, to January 2, 2020 and features some awesome rewards along the way. As usual, there are skins you can earn by simply playing Overwatch for the duration of Winter Wonderland. Also, the Limited-Time arcade modes “Snowball Offensive” and “Yeti Hunter” are back as well an all-new mode, “Snowball Deathmatch.” Let’s dive in and check out all that Blizzard is offering Overwatch fans in celebration of the holiday season.
The Winter Wonderland 2019 skins
The Winter Wonderland event lasts for approximately three weeks and Blizzard is rewarding those who play each week. A new skin will be awarded to the players who win nine total matches each week of Winter Wonderland. Here are the three skins Overwatch is offering for those who complete the challenge:
- Week 1: Ugly Sweater Soldier: 76
- Week 2: Holly Moira
- Week 3: Snow Angel Mercy
Below, you can see each of these skins from the official Overwatch gallery:
However, the holiday-themed skins don’t stop with the three you see above. While those can be earned by anyone simply by winning nine matches per week, there are a plethora of others also available in the holiday-exclusive loot boxes! Overwatch will add the following Legendary skins into loot boxes with the Winter Wonderland event: Jotunn Doomfist, Mountain Man McCree, Rat King Reaper, and Rime Sigma. You can see an image of Rat King Reaper below.
New limited-time event: Snowball Deathmatch
Along with the holiday skins, Overwatch is once again debuting a new limited-time event. Snowball Deathmatch is a twist on the classic Mei’s Snowball Offensive which pits teams of 6 players against each other. Snowball Deathmatch is instead an 8-person free-for-all with some exciting new gameplay mechanics. You can now reload up to three snowballs at a time and there is also a brand-new “Catch” mechanic that allows you to catch an opponent’s snowball… and hurl it back at them!
This is an 8-player free-for-all deathmatch where everyone will play as Mei with a modified Mei snowball gun, similar to the one from Mei’s Snowball Offensive. Mei will get a new ability in this game mode, called “Catch” – allowing you to catch an enemy snowball and, if successful, adding it to your ammo count. The first player to get to 15 eliminations wins!
Snowball Deathmatch also brings three new achievements that players can complete to unlock event-exclusive sprays:
Breached: Kill an enemy after destroying part of their Ice Wall in Snowball Deathmatch | “Jötunn” Spray
This one is fairly straightforward. Load up on snowballs or use your Flurry ultimate to break through a wall and catch an opponent off guard!
Threepeat: Kill 3 enemies without reloading or dying in Snowball Deathmatch | “Mountain Man” Spray
Another one that requires a full arsenal of Snowballs and a bunch of opponents in one area. Maximize your ammo inventory and charge up your ultimate, and then wait for a group of opponents to get into a skirmish. Attack at the right time and you should be able to score this achievement fairly easily.
Caught You!: Kill an enemy with a caught snowball in Snowball Deathmatch | “Ice Spheres” Spray
This was the most fun achievement to go for in this event. Look for an opponent that has a snowflake above their head, which indicates that they have usable ammo. Once you catch the opponent’s attention and lure them into a fight, time your new “Catch” ability (default hotkey on PC is V), grab their snowball and shoot it right back into their face!
Both of Mei’s limited-time events, Snowball Offensive and Snowball Deathmatch, will join the returning Yeti Hunter event as playable modes in the Arcade. All three modes will disappear once the Winter Wonderland 2019 event concludes on January 2.
This should be an action-packed event for Overwatch fans! Make sure to stay up-to-date with all Overwatch news here at Daily Esports.
