Overwatch 2‘s bumpy launch has resulted in thousands of players missing cosmetics, skins, and other items they‘ve earned over years of playing the original Overwatch.
Based on complaints across Reddit, the Blizzard forums, and social media, this is a widespread issue plaguing up to 30% of the playerbase. Many Overwatch veterans feel robbed of the skins and emotes they cherished.
As an Overwatch player myself, I empathize with the frustration. The lack of transparency from Blizzard on what exactly went wrong compounds things. This guide will explain why you can‘t see certain cosmetics and provide actionable steps to get your missing inventory back.
Why Your Hard-Earned Cosmetics are MIA
The main culprit is the account merge process between the original Overwatch and Overwatch 2. Here‘s what‘s happening behind the scenes when you log in for the first time:
- Your account data from Overwatch 1 is copied over to Overwatch 2 servers. This includes your cosmetics, competitive rank, settings, etc.
- Due to launch traffic overwhelming servers, the account copy process is taking much longer than Blizzard anticipated – up to 48-72 hours in some cases.
- Until the copy finishes, your Overwatch 2 account will be missing certain pieces of inventory that haven‘t synced over yet.
Based on Blizzard‘s updates, no player data is actually lost. Your items are just stuck in a queue waiting to transfer to your Overwatch 2 account. But that doesn‘t make it any less frustrating when your favorite skins are nowhere to be found.
How to Get Your Missing Skins Back ASAP
While you‘ll ultimately need to wait for this queue to clear, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can take to speed up the process:
Relink Your Console Account
If you‘re playing on console (PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch), unlinking and re-linking your console account to Battle.net can sometimes trigger a faster sync.
Here‘s how to do this:
- From the Overwatch 2 main menu, go to Account Linking under Options.
- Select Unlink Account.
- Relaunch Overwatch 2 on your console.
- When prompted, scan the QR code on your phone again to relink your console account.
Many players have reported missing skins appearing after relinking their console account, so it‘s worth a shot.
Contact Blizzard Support
Submitting a ticket to Blizzard support is the nuclear option to force a manual account sync. Explain your missing skins in detail and request that a staff member initiate a cosmetics transfer from your Overwatch 1 account.
To get in touch with support:
- Go to https://us.battle.net/support/en/games/overwatch
- Click "Contact Support"
- Select "Technical Support" then "Overwatch 2" > "Your Platform" > "Missing Items"
- Log in and submit a ticket describing your missing cosmetics.
Based on Blizzard‘s posted responses, support can directly investigate issues and recover missing items through account tools only they have access to. Leverage this if you‘ve waited long enough!
If You‘re Missing OWL Tokens or Skins
Overwatch League (OWL) cosmetics and tokens work slightly differently, as they are associated with a different account system. If these items are missing for you, try:
- Logging in to the OWL website using your Battle.net credentials
- Confirming your YouTube account is still linked for earnable OWL drops
- Completing OWL account troubleshooting here
This should correctly reconnect your OWL inventory data.
Be Patient and Check Back Often
I know it‘s annoying, but try to be patient as Blizzard works through the backlog of account merges. Log in daily to see if your missing skins have appeared as things sync gradually.
And don‘t worry – according to Blizzard, "No cosmetics, loot boxes, credits, stats, or other Overwatch 1 inventory will be lost in the merge to Overwatch 2."
Hang in there, and hopefully you‘ll be wrecking shop with your coveted skins soon!
