Overwatch Anniversary Event Goes Live

UPDATE: The Event is now live.

By Miranda Sanchez

UPDATE: The Overwatch Anniversary event has begun - you can download the update from now.

As previously revealed, three new Arena maps are available (called Castillo, Necropolis and Black Forest), as well as plethora of new skins (all of which you can see in the gallery below), seemingly along no set theme, and dancing emotes for each character.

You can see a full list of unlockable skins and emotes on the Overwatch website.

The event runs from May 23 to June 12, and you'll get one free Anniversary loot box for signing in during that time.

ORIGINAL STORY: Blizzard is celebrating Overwatch's first anniversary with a new seasonal event, another free-weekend, and a digital Game of the Year Edition of Overwatch.

The Overwatch Anniversary event begins on Tuesday, May 23 and ends Monday, June 12. Blizzard will announce additional event details at a later time.

The free-weekend runs from May 26 to May 29, and new players that participate will have access to the full game, including the ability to level up and unlock customization items. Any progress made over the free-weekend can transfer to a purchased copy.

Then Overwatch: Game of the Year Edition comes out on Tuesday, May 23 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4 digitally and will replace the Origins Edition. The Game of the Year Edition includes the following bonus items:

• 10 Loot Boxes
• Vintage Blackwatch Reyes, Strike-Commander Morrison, Overgrown Bastion, Security Chief Phara, and Slipstream Tracer skins.
• Tracer for Heroes of the Storm
• Baby Winston pet for World of Warcraft
• Mercy's wings for Diablo III
• Tracer, Reaper, Pharah, Winston, Bastion, and Soldier: 76, portraits for StarCraft II
• Overwatch-themed card back for Hearthstone

The Overwatch: Game of the Year Edition includes all the same bonus items found in the Origins Edition with the exception of the 10 Loot Boxes. The Game of the Year Edition's price hasn't been announced.

Overwatch was IGN's 2016 Game of the Year and was lauded for its strategic gameplay and excellent design. Check out all of Overwatch's past events in the Overwatch wiki.

Miranda Sanchez is an Editor at IGN. Chat with her about video games, anime, and handsome robots on Twitter.

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