As Kim ‘Fleta’ Byung-sun’s Overwatch League MVP skin made its way into the game, Blizzard shockingly revealed that it would be the last of its kind. A month later, OWL Vice President Jon Spector has finally clarified this decision.
Since the very first OWL season in 2018, one tradition has kept fans excited year after year. The MVP for each season received their very own custom-made skin.
From JJoNak’s other-worldly Zenyatta design to Fleta’s new Good vs Evil creation, it became a special way of celebrating the best OWL had to offer. After just three MVP skins though, the tradition has come to an end.
Blizzard subtly revealed that Fleta’s skin would be the last, much to the dismay of the Overwatch community.
A few weeks after the announcement, Spector has now elaborated on the surprising choice to drop MVP skins moving forward.
“We decided last year with the Overwatch development team that Fleta’s MVP skin would be the last one we’d commit to,” he said in an April 15 Reddit post.
While early speculation pointed towards the Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won controversy being the reason, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Instead, the decision simply comes down to Overwatch being a “team-based game,” according to Spector.
“We wanted the flexibility to use the legendary OWL skins to celebrate team success.”
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With this new emphasis on highlight full teams, there could actually mean more OWL skins — not less.
“Special moments throughout the season” could be immortalized in unique ways with new legendary skin designs, or even permanent map sprays. Therefore, it’s not just the best teams getting immortalized moving forward.
The latest legendary skin was a fiery Roadhog design to celebrate San Francisco Shock’s 2020 championship. This design represented the efforts of an entire team, opposed to just a single MVP candidate. Based on Spector’s explanation, this is the direction Blizzard wants to pivot towards.
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So while three MVP skins exist in-game today, it’s apparent there won’t be any more moving forward. Overwatch players will instead have unique team-based designs to look forward to instead.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated as any earth-shattering moments are made into custom skins throughout the 2021 OWL season.