Overwatch's Winter Wonderland Event Begins, With A New Game Mode, Skins, And Challenges

Overwatch has rung in the holiday season with its fourth annual Winter Wonderland event on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The event will run from December 10 through January 2, and includes a festive new game mode, new cosmetics and skins, and weekly challenges.

The new mode is a mini-game dubbed "Snowball Deathmatch." It's an eight-player free-for-all where everyone plays as Mei with a snowball gun, but there's a twist. Mei gets a new "Catch" ability allowing her to catch enemy snowballs and add it to her own ammo count. The first player to score 15 eliminations wins.

The event will also feature seven new skins--four Legendary that can be opened in loot boxes, and three Epic that can be earned through weekly challenges. The Epic skins include Ugly Sweater Soldier 76 (Week 1), Holly Moira (Week 2), and Snow Angel Mercy (Week 3). Legendaries include Jotunn Doomfist, Mountain Man McCree, Rat King Reaper, and Rime Sigma. Plus, as usual, you can earn a collection of new player icons and sprays.

The event comes alongside a significant new patch. That update adds a new "While You Wait" feature that lets you pick from various options to toy with as you wait to find a match. You could use a practice range, skirmish, play a little deathmatch, or even enter a custom game mode. It also includes a number of bug fixes and hero balance updates, which you can read about here.