Overwatch is getting a new currency exclusively for esports skins

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Purchase of Overwatch League skins and other items will support teams.

We wondered back in October if the advent of the Overwatch League meant that players would be given the opportunity dress up their Overwatch avatars in OWL-themed skins. Today, Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer confirmed that the answer is yes: "Home team uniforms" for all OWL teams will be available for purchase early next year. 

League skins will be available for all Overwatch heroes, and will be purchasable with Overwatch League tokens, a separate in-game currency that Nanzer said will enable Blizzard to ensure that League-based revenues are properly distributed between the teams. The token system will be used for all OWL-related in-game items, and players who log into the game within a month of the League's launch will be given enough tokens to buy their first skin.

On the surface, the system isn't too dissimilar from what we've seen in games like CS:GO, which have esports-specific cosmetic crates and in-game player autograph stickers that support the pro scene.

Nanzer didn't reveal anything about token pricing, or whether they'll be available to earn in the game. What you can be sure of is that with 12 teams, 26 heroes on each, and a burning Pokémon-like need to have 'em all, you're going to need a lot of them. I've reached out to Blizzard to inquire about token costs and availability, and will update if I receive a reply. I do wonder a currency exchange will become a feature, allowing players to convert credits into tokens.

Also unrevealed are the OWL team skins themselves, although a few team pages have partial lineups modeling their colors that you can lay eyes on below. Redditor fireyREIGN also made life a little easier by assembling the team logos and a sample skin for each into a single image.  

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Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.