As the release date for 2020 Overwatch Anniversary Events seems to have been leaked and assuming it is correct, we might get it sooner than expected! A seasonal event usually lasts for three weeks (except Year of the Dog, which lasted for four weeks), and the final week being the week of the main event. So what happens during these events? The regular loot boxes are replaced with seasonal event loot boxes that contain at least one item that is exclusive to the event. These items include – skins, emotes, victory poses, voice lines, sprays, highlight intros, and player icons. After the event is over, these items are unobtainable. Seasonal events also include an exclusive timed Arcade game mode.
Summer Games
These were the first-ever seasonal event added and are the 4th event of the chronological year. It is based on the 2016 Olympic games, and includes the Lucioball Brawl, which takes place in 3 dedicated maps – Estadio das ras, Sydney Harbour Arena and Busan Stadium, and many event-exclusive sports themed items! Below is a gist of their run time.
Summer Games 206 ran from August 2nd, 2016 to August 22nd, 2016 Summer Games 2017 ran from August 8th, 2017 to August 29th, 2017 Summer Games 2018 ran from August 9th, 2018 to August 31st, 2018 Summer Games 2019 ran from July 16th, 2019 to August 5th, 2019
Halloween Terror
Halloween terror was the second season event and the fifth event of the chronological year. Following the theme, the loot boxes are replaced with jack-o’-lanterns filled with candy. The event includes the co-op PVE brawl Junkenstein’s Revenge in a ma called Aldersbrunn. The Hollywood, Eichenwalde and Chateau Gullard maps are also reskinned into a Halloween Theme.
Halloween Terror 2016 ran from October 11th, 2016 to November 1st, 2016 Halloween Terror 2017 ran from October 10th, 2017 to November 2nd, 207 Halloween Terror 2018 ran from October 9th, 2018 to October 31st, 2018 Halloween Terror 2019 ran from October 15th, 2019 to November 4th, 2019
Winter Wonderland
It was the 3rd seasonal event and the sixth event in the chronological calendar. As part of this Christmas themed event, the loot boxes were replaced with present boxes! The event includes a new brawl, Mel’s Snowball Offensive and Mel’s Yeti Hunt and many event exclusive items based on winter themes. King’s Row, Hanamura, Ecopoint: Antarctica, Black Forest and Blizzard World are have new skins based on the theme.
Winter Wonderland 2016 ran from December 13th, 2016 to January 2nd, 2016 Winter Wonderland 2017 ran from December 12th, 2017 to January 2nd, 2017 Winter Wonderland 2018 ran from December 11th, 2018 to January 1st, 2018 Winter Wonderland 2019 ran from December 10th, 2019 to January 2nd, 2019
Lunar New Year
It was the 4th seasonal event and the 1st event of the chronological new year. This celebrates the Chinese new year and the loot boxes are replaced with boxes of fireworks. The first event included a new capture-the-flag brawl mode, capture the rooster, which took place in modified seasonal Lijang Tower reskin and a map based in Thailand: Ayutthaya.
Lunar New Year 2017 (Year of the Rooster) ran from January 24th, 2017 to February 13th, 2017 Lunar New Year 2018 (Year of the Dog) ran from February 8th, 2018 to March 6th, 2018 Lunar New Year 2019 (Year of the Pig) ran from January 24th, 2019 to February 18th, 2019 Lunar New Year 2020 (Year of the Rat) ran from January 16th, 2020 to February 5th, 2020
Archives
Originally called Uprising, it was the fifth seasonal event and is the second event of the chronological year. The loot boxes are replaced with supply crates over here. The event includes the second co-op PVE brawl Uprising which took place in a modified version of King’s Row, as well as Retribution which took place in a modified version of Rialto and event-exclusive items from Overwatch’s Golden Era.
Archives 2017 (Uprising) ran from April 11th, 2017 to May 2nd, 2017 Archives 2018 (Retribution) ran from April 10th, 2018 to April 30th, 2018 Archives 2019 (Storm Rising) ran from April 16th, 2019 to May 6th, 2019 Archives 2020 ran from March 12th, 2020 to April 2nd, 2020
Anniversary
This is the 6th seasonal event and the third event of the chronological calendar. This is done celebrating the release of Overwatch and the loot boxes are reskinned to match the theme. The event includes event-exclusive items themed around artistic freedom. The first anniversary introduced the Lockout Elimination and Limited Duel arena modes with the inclusion of 3 new maps.
Anniversary 2017 (First Anniversary) ran from May 23rd, 2017 to June 13th, 2017 Anniversary 2018 (Second Anniversary) ran from May 22nd, 2018 to June 12th, 2018 Anniversary 2019 (Third Anniversary) ran from May 21st, 2019 to June 11th, 2019 Anniversary 2020 (Fourth Anniversary) has not yet happened.
What Time Do Overwatch Events Start?
The recent leak suggests that the Overwatch Anniversary 2020 Event will be released on May 12th, 2020! This is some exciting news for all the Overwatch fans out there and with the current global pandemic, even better information! Assuming this is correct, it will be deployed for all platforms simultaneously, bringing the event to PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. Given that the Overwatch Archives events started a month earlier, it was already expected that the Anniversary Event will start earlier as well. That said, for it to be released on the 12th would be an early release as they are usually released post-May 21st as seen from the dates above. In past updates, Blizzard has chosen to patch the event into the live game at 11 AM their time which is 11 AM in the PDT timezone. That is, 11:30 PM, IST if a conversion is made! Be sure to stay tuned on any more updates of the same as we are just as excited for the release of these new events and what they have in store for their fans and fellow Gamers across the globe! We are all set and ready for the latest Overwatch Anniversary Event of 2020 and we hope it’s just as good as we imagine!
