Blizzard says Overwatch loot box odds have not changed

Blizzard added more than 100 new cosmetic items to Overwatch's base loot box yesterday, many of which you can get a closer look at here. In the eyes of some users, however, the increase in available items was accompanied by a decrease in the odds of actually getting any of the good stuff. But Blizzard says that's simply not the case.
 

That's pretty hard to misinterpret, but Blizzard expanded on the topic a little further in a follow-up tweet. "Please keep in mind that unlike during events you're not guaranteed to get a new item in every box," it wrote. "These items went into the pool of all available items in the base Loot Box."

Overwatch loot boxes contain a randomized series of items—skins, sprays, emotes, and all that—in Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary qualities. The higher the quality, the less likely it is to drop, but the specifics were a mystery until last year, when Blizzard revealed the drop rates to remain in compliance with Chinese law. Every loot box contains at least one Rare item, but higher grades are far less likely to appear: Epics drop at an average rate of once in every 5.5 loot boxes, while Legendaries turn up once in every 13.5 boxes.

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.

Latest in FPS
Rainbow Six Siege year 9 season 2 key art - two Rainbow Six Siege operators facing each other
'Siege 2 was never on the table': Rainbow Six Siege X director explains why the 10-year-old FPS doesn't need a sequel
rainbow six siege sledge
After holding out for 10 years, Rainbow Six Siege is finally going free-to-play (kind of)
rainbow six siege x dual front mode
Rainbow Six Siege is getting its first permanent mode in 10 years, and it throws every Siege rule out the window
Fragpunk characters with weapon drawn
The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike'
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Latest in News
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
'We've been keeping fans waiting for an awfully long time': We finally got to see more of Silent Hill f and boy, does it look great
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
The hooligan hacker guild that tore up WoW's newest raid (twice) just posted video evidence of the whole thing, and it's got me feeling weirdly nostalgic
A pasta "display" on a table showing the word "keep" surrounded by fruit. Obviously.
Penne for your thoughts: This pasta display can show three individual frames and it's trying its best, okay
Intel engineers inspect a lithography machine
Finally some good vibes from Intel as stock jumps 15% on new CEO hire and Arizona fab celebrates 'Eagle has landed' moment for its 18A node
Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
A side by side comparison of two Asus Q-Release systems, with the original design on the top and the bottom showing the apparently new design.
Asus appears to have quietly changed the design of its Q-Release PCIe slot after claims of potential GPU pin damage