Overwatch 2 devs claim one new Mythic Skin takes “over a year to make”

Overwatch 2 devs have revealed that the creative process for the upcoming game’s Mythic Skins is a lengthy one, describing the cosmetic as a “massive investment” for the team.

In an interview with Game Informer, Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller spoke about the development process for OW2 compared to the original Overwatch. While Keller revealed that the team has nearly tripled in size, he also spoke at length about how the creative process is still a lengthy affair.

One particular element to the upcoming Overwatch 2 release that the dev team has spent a long time working on is their Mythic Skins. Keller discussed how these particular cosmetics take a much longer time to create and develop than fans might think.

“We put a lot of time into building our cosmetics,” he said. “A Mythic Skin takes us over a year to make. It’s a massive investment for the team, and a massive amount of resources go into building these things. And we think it’s worth it.” Keller then added, “one of our values is to be able to put out the absolute coolest cosmetics we can, and we hope they can be seen as some of the very best in the industry.”

In a follow-up interview with Game Informer, Overwatch’s Commercial Lead and Vice President Jon Spector also spoke in depth about the creative process behind Overwatch’s Mythic Skins. How these Mythic Skins have now become a pivotal element of the game’s Battle Pass system.

“Putting the Mythic Skin in the Battle Pass felt like the right decision, even if candidly, I think we’d make more money selling it directly in the shop. But we really wanted it to be one of the centerpieces of our Battle Pass system.” 

Spector then went on to say that, “the guiding principle behind Mythics was asking the art team to outdo themselves and make something even cooler than Legendary Skins. In some of our media assets, you can see the Dragonblade animation, which I think is the single coolest thing we’ve ever done with a Skin.”

Each new season of Overwatch 2 will offer up a brand new Mythic Skin. Players will need to purchase and progress the Battle Pass for the specific season in order to unlock the latest cosmetic. Each Mythic Skin will be limited to the specific season it is released in. Meaning players who don’t purchase the Battle Pass for Season 1 will be unable to unlock the Skin at a later date. 

I think the ability to look back and say, ‘I got Mythic Genji because I was playing in Season One and completed the Battle Pass,’ will make it feel even more special,” said Spector. However, the OW community is already voicing their desire to have this system changed to be more like Halo’s skin setup.

Overwatch 2 is set to go live on October 4, 2022.