The Monetisation Debate feat. BLIZZARD DEVELOPERS

Commercial Lead & VP Jon Spector and Executive Producer Jared Neuss discuss issues such as monetisation, PvE & the future plans of Overwatch on the podcast!
Podcast links below!
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Timestamps
0:00 Introductions
02:58 Dev Feelings on Box Model to F2P Model
5:42 Why Are Skins So Expensive?
10:12 How Long Do Skins Take To Make?
11:20 Why Do Old Skins Cost As Much As New Skins?
14:04 Changes To Reward Systems
18:24 Why No Premium Currency in the BP?
27:45 Why Are Heroes In the BP?
31:15 How Will S3 Work With No New Hero?
38:25 How Much Do The Devs Play The Game?
45:00 How Much Dev Resource Goes to PvE versus PvP?
47:50 When Can We Expect PvE & At What Frequency?
52:20 How Devs Plan to Communicate in the Future?
56:50 What Is The Best Way For Community To Feedback?
59:55 Overwatch Not Being Operational In China
1:00:55 Workshop Returns Confirmed
1:02:11 Experimental Card Returning?
1:02:40 What Do Jon & Jared Want The Community To Know?
1:07:00 Pet The Dog

[@GetQuakedOn]

its so dope to see devs joining their communities podcast like this. great hosting as usual

[@TheBoyNinja]

They are deleting all negative comments. Don't believe anything here.

[@dazey856]

@@frea2191 that’s not what their roles are, but also you should expect a game to be monetized if you want content, they can’t work for free

[@roller98]

and give PR answers, yeah super ''dope''

[@vembernov]

@@roller98 these answer's really aren't that "PR"-y compared to some of the stuff they were saying throughout OW1, and especially when compared to some of their competitors. This was pretty honest to be fair to them. Some people will just never be happy with them regardless of what they say. This is a great step forward with the promises they've been making.

[@idealslenderman7520]

@@roller98 sad ass mf 😂

[@safarfsaf]

This is exactly the type of thing they need to do more often. Solid questions, solid information, and most importantly humanizing the devs.

[@N3LI415]

It shouldn't be up to them to humanise themselves when the community are the ones dehumanising the devs but yeah, nice watch

[@rosenracht]

thank you for caring, and trying to make the game better

[@leoneyedis2671]

word

[@TheBoyNinja]

They are deleting all negative comments. Don't believe anything here.

[@pingufan1239]

My jaw experienced the gravity of Jupiter as it hit the floor seeing the Devs on this podcast. I really appreciate this kind of authenticity from the game devs.

[@ducasse8473]

How can I hate the game devs now that i know that Jared is hot.

[@kuscheltear]

absolutely! i loved them being straight honest. would be great to have more of these insights going forward

[@jejopads]

the honesty demonstrated on this podcast was so comforting. i’d love to hear more stuff like this from them even when it can be blunt at times rather than hearing corporate messages with little substance. thank you, SVB, for being an amazing host!

[@FlockofBees]

The big thing I took away from this is the tension in the team with Agile and Shift Left philosophy against a huge clunky outdated business model - failing faster, earlier feedback, smaller chunks of unpolished features to try -Bravo guys!. Thanks for the support to these guys SVB, sometimes it feels like content creators are taking such an antagonistic stance to the team, but we need to remember that the enemy is not the team, it's higher than that. They're struggling to push new ideas and change in a real olde worlde business. They seem like they've got the right idea, and it would be amazing to hear more of their un-filtered comms. Plenty of other businesses are doing this successfully, its time they found their own flavour of that.

[@plain-bagel]

Really looking forward to this episode. It's dope you're providing them with a venue for engaging with the community!! Well done SVB, and thanks for taking the time Jon and Jared!!

[@therealzahyra]

The Overwatch Addict tagline has me rolling 😂😂😂 Thank you to the devs who decided to participate! We have a very upset community (and spoilt but also with no content PTSD, so a very conflicted community) and you guys are willing to engage with us and update us. You're really great, so thank you. 💖 P.S. I always defend you guys when it comes to the incompleteness and imperfections of the game. I keep saying "it's Early Access, which means many many changes will come based on our feedback" but everyone just complains and tells me I'm being too positive or kissing ass to "Blizzard". This finally shows I'm not making excuses for you guys, I just know how the industry works. THANK YOU again 💖

[@pingufan1239]

Jared’s son can actually use the line “my dad works at Blizzard, I can get you banned!”

[@vixantenna]

I am thankful for your work, SVB, and the fact that you're a vital pillar of this community. Appreciate the devs making the effort to clue us in as well.

[@whoizrez]

They should make this a thing for every new season!

[@terrifyingai]

I didn't buy the battlepass this season and I absolutely don't regret it. It's not good value at all. They say "oh there's a lot of good things in the Pass" but in reality there's a few skins that may or may not be for characters you play, and the rest is just trash. Just put premium credits in the pass - it doesn't necessarily have to include enough credits to purchase the next pass, just some would be enough.

[@zairvix]

Man I love these guys awe. This whole interview was just so real thank you svb John and Jared Edit: extra shout out to Jared, as a first impression I'm so glad someone like him is in the position he's in and I'm a lot more at ease with the long term future of the game. He really seems to care and want to be a part of it for a long time to come

[@thedofflin]

I would love if players also received legacy credits alongside titles, maybe 100 or 200 credits. That would give players a reason to grind even after they've reached level 80 in the battle pass.

[@Koooles]

Better just regular credits, same for just leveling up. Don't give that much, but like 10 after every 10 levels or something. The legacy coins are already a workaround because they didn't wanted for old players to feel like they got robbed of their old currency (since it could be paid), but didn't wanted them to farm all the new stuff. Outside of that it's redundant. Everything you get from playing now should allow you to get new content.

[@thedofflin]

@@Koooles Well they did say that legacy credits will be usable for OW2 cosmetics for limited periods of time, which I think is acceptable. Hoard them and wait for the events. While the _prices_ for skins should keep going down, I think it's pretty fair for Blizzard to limit players from farming new OW2 skins without spending a dime and only letting people access these skins using free-to-play legacy credits when it seems appropriate.

[@garrettbates9124]

I feel like adding coins to the prestige tiers would simultaneously be an incentive to grind for them while keeping a majority of players buying multiple battle passes

[@Koooles]

@@thedofflin I don't think majority of the playerbase will farm enough coins to own all the skins they want. Even in OW1 I had 2k hours and haven't had all cosmetics yet and OW1 only got cosmetics during major events, unlike OW2 that now regulary throws something in the shop + all the extras. Same thing with Apex, I have 300h (I know not that much compared), but I have only gotten one legendary skin in that time total, and some lesser ones from the box. Meanwhile I have bought 3 season passes (neither of which I completed). Yet, I didn't feel "robbed" because you constantly open lootboxes and my lizard brain feels like I always get "something" while playing. I don't think farming currency ever gets in the way of the profit, because unless you actually have 10k hours in the game you cannot farm enough, it's always just a nice ad on, knowing that after a season you can get that one skin you wanted, and you will still most likely buy season pass and all that.

[@Sam_Is_The_Name]

Devs if you're reading. You're legends and this was so great! Thank you! 😊

[@gerharddamm5933]

Lol, the dev being like “I want to be happy so I don’t play comp”

[@CROSSFADE69]

Wow this is big hope we can get this more often!

[@yojuei]

the community needed this healthy mode of communication with devs, a respectful conversation between the player-base and devs abt the game both parties love and want the best for

[@serafimamaldonado8536]

this pod makes the devs more human to the players. it puts a face and a personality to the people who are trying to make our beloved game the best it can be but need us to be understanding and patient while they figure out what is good and what is bad.

[@isaiahrasmussen8601]

I have this idea to help all players (new and old) that will help people get a skin for a hero they actually want and can earn it every event. i.e., Summer Games, Winter Wonderland, Lunar New Year etc., to have a "Free Unlock Token" that can be used on any item to include legendary skins and can be saved for a later time to unlock anything from a skin to a voice line whenever they see fit. That would make people want to grind for these challenges and get a reward that they actually want. For example if someone wanted the new legendary skin for the event, they could grind out the game, and get 1 of the many new cool skins for free. This wouldn't cause players to get every skin in the game for free, as you would only be able to earn this "Unlock Token" during events, which only happen a handful times throughout the year, still allowing for sales of other cosmetic items. This would be one of many changes that would make OW2 more enjoyable and rewarding to play. TLDR; event challenges should reward a “Free Unlock Token” to let players grind for an item they actually want. Also thank you guys so much for coming on to talk with SVB and the community we, the silent majority, are actually really appreciative when you guys do things like this we all are on the same team and wish the best for Overwatch! 💙

[@eyeden819]

I think they should be specific rarities and in the battlepass. As a tank player, I don't care about a mid symmetra skin, or a mid tracer skin. If they let you pick what skins you actually get from the battlepass it would make me actually want to buy it.

[@isaiahrasmussen8601]

@@eyeden819 that’s fair, and that’s where the “Free Unlock Token” comes into play. Yeah the battle pass is a culmination of skins for a variety or heroes and roles, there will be some items you’ll love and some you won’t even remember you have it. But during the event challenges if you had a reward such as being able to pick your own cosmetic item for a hero you love, that would be all the more reason to grind and feel rewarded. Overwatch is such a diverse game and not everyone plays the same hero. An echo skin for someone could be exactly what they wanted and for another something they’ll never use.

[@fredericabernkastel8354]

This episode is a huge W. Devs sitting down and answering the big questions of the community. More communication. Great hosting on your part, as always. PLEASE try to make more episodes like this, maybe as a "end of the season" podcast? ♥️

[@ljb5163]

I love all the communication recently. I really like the devs.

[@BlizShadow]

Was absolutely thrilled to see a candid discussion between you and the devs! I hope more of them decide to come on more often!

[@Lambda-J]

This is actually incredible. Thanks so much for putting this whole thing on guys - I really like these devs too, just a genuine chat about the game we're all invested in. I feel super glad/lucky to have this type of communication, as a player. More of this.

[@everynone1849]

"we would be incentivized to make the battle pass hard to complete" - as someone who does play other games... Apex, R6S, Fortnite... they do make you "commit" to the game in order to finish. I've definitely had experiences falling out of a game temporarily and had to either have an unfun experience grinding out close to the end to finish, or just lost out on whatever my money should've earned.

[@jtdripp]

These two did a great job representing the devs and what is going on. Upto now it's felt too bland and corporate. SVB is a great host too. Appreciate it 👍

[@TiMonsor]

Spilo on GroupUp when? We need more quiet humble ppl. No cap tho, I really would like to hear his takes here.

[@COOMmanderInChief]

47:05 LMAOOO they weren’t kidding

[@jiisshh]

so so cool to see devs come on a community pod and really clarify things for the players. season 3 is shaping up to be really good :)

[@shioramenrabbit]

It's amazing you were able to set this up and Jared and Jon were willing to join! Thank you all!

[@Link2855]

I've really got to hand it to Jared. He was clearly hired because Blizzard saw how unhappy the community was, and he's done a great job so far in a short amount of time with increasing the communication and getting some positive changes going.

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

Thanks to Jon and Jared for coming out and talking and sharing! Would love to see more of this kind of communication from behind the scenes at blizzard. Well done, and bravo to SVB for being a great host!

[@CQuick30]

Excellent interview SVB. It was really cool to hear the devs talk about issues so we can get a more clear picture of what is going on.

[@Bluemansonic]

This has revitalized my Hope for the Future, thank you Jon and Jared

[@ElmoRitter]

As an old dude with a corporate job, I appreciate this and how they handled it. This can be a scary position for them to be interviewed and it's hard to be candid with you job on the line. Great work by all parties. Appreciate the maturity.

[@truthmachine6382]

Such a treat, this episode. Thanx SVB. Hopefully, this can be a recurring thing! :D

[@aimonlatheef6646]

Loved it! Big up to the devs for the time and honesty, and big up for the incredible hosting as well SVB

[@heretustay]

bravo devs for coming on and giving us a look into how things happen behind the scenes, and your desires and expectations for the game. thank you for the honesty and courage to face the community directly! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Aurora12488]

Such a fantastic interview. I think this did wonders to humanize the dev team and make it clear that they absolutely care about the game and community, and want it to be the best it can be. This gave me a lot of faith that, regardless of the bumps along the road (nerf Sojourn rail and Widow!), things are going in a very healthy direction, and this game is better equipped than ever to grow and thrive.

[@TheTrueHardcorefr3k]

This is awesome. I hope this is a peak into the future of communication!

[@soyunbonus]

Wow, it would be great if more chats with devs were a thing in the future. This is so great!

[@BridgyP]

Thank you Devs for coming to communicate in earnest with the community, and SVB is a great creator to return to. Fair, level headed and his podcast is a great medium for a conversation with community members

[@ryanhawkrider]

I know pve is coming but MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Idk about you guys but the characters is what pulled me in in the first place. Anything we can learn about them is a huge plus

[@Psychosis247]

I… love these! So great to hear the devs break their choices down. Also, you are a great interviewer SVB! Well done 😁

[@LepsMere]

Great job devs. We need more QnAs like this. Loved it

[@BoyMac]

This was great Thanks for being you SVB Big up the devs, we got good ppl working on this game, we're in good hands👍🏾

[@bronzy6700]

Really hoping this stops people making clickbait videos saying overwatch is dead. It clearly isn't and the devs care about the game.

[@NightlyMilk]

Always good when the devs can come on, open up and have a great discussion on a lot of things the community wants to know more on.

[@James_15R]

Love these pods SVB, awesome idea to have the devs on!

[@MantisTCO]

Such a great interviewer asking great questions, then summarizing the answer whilst giving his opinion on it. So talented :)

[@bridgetdenman6080]

This is great! I love seeing behind the screen.

[@stillnotchill2560]

Ngl I've been slowing down with my OW grind but this has been the most optimistic I've been for the future of OW in a long time. This is exactly what the community needs.

[@pierrealexander8183]

The points they made when discussing battlepasses that offer currency to buy the next one, was very insightful that I havent thought about before. Other battlepasses are certainly much longer, and I certainly havent felt like there was anything nefarious about the way progression was tuned like other games.

[@screamat333am7]

legendary interviewer SVB, great tough straight forward questions while still being respectful.

[@jremigio24]

Wow this was so great for you svb!

[@matthewatkins4004]

Amazing content. Gave me a lot more confidence in the development team and their communications. Would love something like this at the least per season.

[@DanSkinny]

Handled so well SVB, great job dude!

[@t-phil76]

i REALLY enjoyed this convo and gave me a better perspective on the devs thought process great conversation as usual

[@ksefchik]

I love it! It's so nice to see the devs come on to the podcast to chat with the community directly! Thumbs up blizzard!

[@srtnnrnn7405]

I also appreciate the clarity of the answer regarding the infinite battle pass loop. I have never understood why people think this is a good idea from the developer perspective. Like bro it's because if it goes infinite you buy it once and never pay again and they can't make money that way, or they have to keep bringing in unreasonable numbers of new players.

[@kingricky71]

Some changes I’d make to the game include: -Dropping new heroes to tier 30-35 in the free track -During events, give people a token or something they can use to go unlock a skin or other cosmetic of they’re choosing in the store, after completing challenges but don’t make them too hard. -500 to 700 premium coins total in the BP so if people want, they don’t have to spend much on the next BP -Seasonal challenges should also give out premium currency as well, be nice if daily challenges and filling a role did too -Have cosmetics that can only be unlocked thru gameplay (such as winning a certain number of games with a hero or eliminations with cool downs, etc.) Think of The haunted helmet back in Halo: Reach or the gold skin in Doom Eternal -Map maker would be nice as well, maybe integrate it with PvE so people can make their own missions

[@Caspppui]

Imagine jon and jared meet their own kids in a comp game as their enemy: The kids be like: „get rekt dad!“ The dads: „you‘re grounded!“ 😂😂

[@doumekikun]

This was so insightful and informative. What an amazing way to communicate with us and to see the devs perspective. This made me so happy and hopeful for the future of the game ❤️

[@jsj0520]

Ayo??? This is awesome, hope they do this more!!

[@JeremiahGosdin]

I think I speak for the whole community when I say that this is exactly what we need right now. It's a shame when we get so frustrated as a veteran/casual community, but it comes from a place of passion and commitment, and to see that same passion and commitment from the devs is very reassuring. I look forward to us all growing together.

[@DDRDAIKENKAI]

SVB you have such an amazing gift of fostering community. Please, keep it up.

[@ssccaappeeggooaatt]

i have not even watched this video yet. I just want to thank you guys for joining SVB. youre the best.

[@TJofthePJs]

Glad to see dev talks!

[@damour0007]

That was truly awesome ❤

[@davidsabillon5182]

Been waiting for this. 👀

[@Azrael_Xx_]

Actually really enjoyed this episode and the insides, nice one.

[@theredguy92]

Thank you Jared and Jon for doing the podcast and letting us know your views on the game and where it’s headed. Great Podcast as always SVB!

[@osimi18]

this is such sweet torture. all these little disappointments..difficult to accept that it's just a game, just a business. Bringing back features from OW1 is not "Progress" or listening, "What it used to be vs what it is now" is so sad to hear. Taking 5 steps back then asking for forgiveness and understanding and funding to rebuild back to what we used to have CANNOT be allowed to be a successful business model

[@Srsbzns_5150]

Great interview questions 👌🏽

[@SkinnyManatee]

Thanks for doing this content SVB a true help to the community

[@Gehenna515]

I really like how you didn't shy away from asking hard questions! Starting off with "skin prices at 2000 coins... What..." Yeah, that's been a lot of people's minds since release.

[@rocki8854]

This was amazing. I really hope they continue to do this. Please, community, don’t scare them off.

[@Endure_]

Another Banger from SVB, thank you good sir for your hard work and dedication.

[@jamsbat1159]

47:29 Rewatching this in light of the cancelation of PVE is really somewhat maddening. I'm not saying it is the devs' fault, but he is clearly dodging the questions while over hyping PVE, which I will mention at this point had already been scrapped. He mentioned not taking staff from pvp to put on pve when, in actuality, it was the opposite.

[@hotdoglukn4abun701]

I would love input based matchmaking. Also, I love that the devs are finally giving us information. I hope they keep it up.

[@PainxSorrow]

Jared gives straight politician answers he didn't answer anything

[@Bioshyn]

good to hear, i do have to point out that i think if the ow1 skins would have been cheaper from the get go way more people would have spent money on them. i remember thinking the owl skins were pretty expensive (100 tokens = 4.99), but the specials which were twice the price were worth it, now a dusty old skin from 2016 is twice that price (or 50% more after the season 3 change) which is still quite expensive

[@MrFirefox365]

I'd love to see of these with 1 or 2 game balance devs along with 1 of each of the role representative streamers like Samito, Flats and KarQ

[@Sausytime]

10:11 I feel it takes them so long because they don't have any system in place (i.e Agile, waterfall, etc.) for the skins, they're not urgent. If there were some deadline or pressure added to releasing new skins I feel like they could be done in a matter of weeks. It's made quite clear that skins aren't being worked on as top priority and charging them at such a high price with the time justification makes zero sense.

[@rosenracht]

I would like to see more sprays and name cards, I was really disappointed there was no winter name card

[@bbrraayy]

There actually is a lot of stuff in the shop that I want, but I just can't bring myself to spend 25$ for something only cosmetic, bring the prices down a tad and im sure you'll make more money, not even the whales feel happy when they buy that stuff for this price

[@wendtchr]

I understand it's corporate speak and it's often a necessary part of business, but It's amazing how many different, long winded ways they can say something that essentially boils down to: "we are a publicly traded company that seeks the highest profits possible so we will charge the highest price we can that will still sell reasonably well." That's literally the ONLY thing that determines the price of skins. Everything else is fluff PR and should be disregarded. I'm not hating on these team members, that's their job, and they are doing it well, but that's the real answer. Don't buy into the other stuff.

[@Revanxbone]

Great talk! The devs seem absolutely reasonable and have good reasons for their tactic and decisions so far. And they seem to Adress criticism openly in this

[@Donnie8888]

Thanks for doing this.

[@nathandawson2762]

Thanks SVB for asking the tough questions for us while not offending or criticizing the devs

[@roostergaming3523]

Did they really think over $20 a skin was gonna make ppl feel good about it?

[@ss3mania28]

Thank you SVB! Asking great questions all around. The developers I feel are just dodging ALOT of the questions

[@alexmiller4055]

This was great ty

[@Sam_Is_The_Name]

Loved this! Actually got me a little excited for season 3 to be honest

[@YoSoFunnyx3]

My biggest complaint with OW was the lack of communication and the separation between communication between devs and the community. It feels so hyped to be able to see them coming out and speaking with us. Thank you devs ! Pls keep it up. :)

[@aidenless3479]

put premium credits in so that if you want every battle pass you have to buy every other one, but if you want to have some battle passes but not all of them you could never spend money, so that the wallet is both optional to open and enticing to open; people don't WANT to miss skins, especially the quality skins the OW team makes (it's their strongest suit IMO), so a lot of players will buy their battle passes.

[@ervinaspetrauskas1716]

i don't know. i skipped both passes and i saw skins i liked *and i did reach mythical tier 80.

[@xandercobrand2680]

I like that the devs are coming on to the podcast to reassure the community that they are listening but I cant help but feel like they are still not. Putting a specific type of currency in a game that can only be used to purchase skins from the old game is actually ridiculous. I would much rather them give me enough coins in the premium track to unlock the next battle pass that way getting to the end (even though not currently very rewarding) would be immensely more satisfying. Plus lowering the price of cosmetics so its reasonable to want to spend my coins for the next battle pass on a cosmetic meaning that I will then have to buy more coins anyways means you get probably twice the amount of money out of me. But I digress OW2 isnt for the OW players anymore ig…

[@Gdhttu]

You get 1/2 a battle pass every season now, so you have to buy 2 and you get the 3rd free (better than nothing lol)

[@xandercobrand2680]

@@Gdhttu the way it sounds you wont be able to use the currency in the battle pass for anything but OW1 cosmetics.

[@jtck1310]

The only thing I wish SVB asked would be about the inspect animations that were shown off but never put in the game

[@gonfftheprince]

Pretty good talk, i understand a lot of your points, but please nerf genji

[@Reppan96]

I think some sort of select a skin feature in the battlepass would be good. So that you have choices as a player to get things based on the characters you actually play.