The Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year release time varies slightly each year in accordance with the lunar calendar, and there’s not long to go until the Year of the Rabbit celebrations are due to take place in Blizzard’s acclaimed hero shooter.
Coinciding with the tail end of the Battle for Olympus event, the Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year is the last event on Blizzard’s roadmap prior to Overwatch 2 season 3. If you’re partial to collecting rare and seasonal skins outside of the Overwatch 2 battle pass, this event typically offers some of the most unique and intricate looks for your favourite Overwatch 2 characters. Without further ado, here’s everything we know about the Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year event, including the Year of the Rabbit challenges you can expect to complete in one of the best free PC games around.
Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year event release time
The Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year release time is at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT on January 17. The event will finish on February 6, 2023, and will include Year of the Rabbit challenges and game modes.
The event was first teased during the Overwatch 2 season 2 trailer, which gave us a glimpse of Echo and Mei kitted out in their Lunar New Year skins in what appears to be the same alternate version of Lijiang Tower used in previous years to stage event-exclusive arcade modes.
Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year skins
The Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year skins are highly coveted, but only one new skin has been revealed so far. The Mei Hu Tou Mao epic skin is available to view in the hero gallery and is due to appear in the shop over the course of the event. It’ll likely cost 1,000 Overwatch coins – the typical value of an epic skin – so start saving up.
On the subject of shop exclusives, the Overwatch 2 Winter Wonderland skins appeared as bundles over the course of that event, leaving little doubt that similar skin bundles will become available for a limited time as part of the Lunar New Year event, offering you the chance to purchase exclusive skins from previous years.
Overwatch 2 Year of the Rabbit challenges and modes
The exact details for the Overwatch 2 Year of the Rabbit challenges are still yet to be confirmed. We do know that the Echo Kkachi legendary skin will be available to unlock by completing the Good Fortune Kkachi challenge, though we still don’t know what completing this particular challenge entails. Additionally, the Lucky Pouch weapon charm and Hongbao souvenir are both new to the Lunar New Year event and can be unlocked by completing Year of the Rabbit challenges.
It’s likely that Overwatch 2 Year of the Rabbit challenges will be tied to event-exclusive arcade modes. Previous iterations of the Lunar New Year event have included modes such as Capture the Flag and Bounty Hunter, and we may well see a reprisal of these arcade modes in Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year Twitch Drops
This year’s Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year event includes Twitch drops that are sure to get the Moira mains out there flocking to their favourite streamers. Watching two hours of an Overwatch 2 stream on Twitch will net you the Moira Lion Roars victory pose, while watching four hours will grant the Moira Mask Dancer legendary skin.
Both Twitch drops are live between January 12 to January 26. While we don’t currently know if there’ll be additional drops to see fans through to the end of the event, be sure to check back for any new information closer to the date.
That’s everything we know about the upcoming Overwatch 2 Lunar New Year event and Year of the Rabbit challenges thus far. Blizzard is likely to release more information as the Battle for Olympus begins to wind down; in the meantime, be sure to take a look at our Overwatch 2 tier list as we gear up for season 3. We’ve also got the lowdown on Overwatch 2 Ramattra abilities if you’re still getting to grips with the pragmatic tempo tank.
