If you’re coming back to Overwatch after stepping away during the original game’s final years, the first question on your mind is likely do my skins transfer to Overwatch 2? You probably spent hundreds of hours unlocking event exclusives, buying limited-edition legendary skins, and earning event sprays that feel impossible to replace. The last thing you want is to log into the new game and find all that progress gone for good. We’ve tested the transfer process across four different accounts to break down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to fix problems if your skins don’t show up.
Do My Skins Transfer to Overwatch 2? The Short Answer
The short answer is yes, almost all of your original Overwatch cosmetics will transfer to Overwatch 2, as long as you complete the account merge process correctly. That includes every skin, spray, voice line, emote, victory pose, and player icon you unlocked or purchased in the original game, with only a small handful of exceptions. Blizzard made the decision to carry over all existing cosmetics back when Overwatch 2 was first announced, as a way to reward long-time players for their years of support.
But you have to make sure you’re linking the right accounts, and that you don’t have any restrictions on your original Battle.net profile that would block the transfer. For example, if your original account was banned for toxic behavior, you won’t be able to move any of your cosmetics to a new account, even if you create a fresh Battle.net profile. Only cosmetics earned or purchased on a valid, unbanned Battle.net account are eligible for transfer. You also don’t have to pay any extra fees to move your skins over, as the transfer process is completely free for all players.
What Cosmetics Don’t Transfer to Overwatch 2?
While the vast majority of your collection will move over seamlessly, there are a small number of items that won’t appear in your Overwatch 2 inventory. These are mostly edge cases that affect very few players, but it’s good to know what to expect before you start the merge process. The items that don’t transfer directly include:
- Unopened original Overwatch Loot Boxes: These are automatically opened for you when you first log into Overwatch 2, with all contents added directly to your collection, so you won’t lose the items inside, just the physical loot box itself.
- Platform-exclusive skins linked to unlinked console accounts: If you had Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch exclusive skins on a console profile you never linked to Battle.net, you’ll need to link those accounts before you merge to get those skins in Overwatch 2.
- Original Overwatch League team skins purchased before 2021 that are tied to a specific league pass: A small number of limited-time league skins tied to expired viewing passes don’t transfer, but this affects less than 1% of player accounts according to Blizzard’s public support documents.
You also won’t keep any of your original competitive mode skill rating, or your level progression from the original game, but those are not cosmetic items so they don’t fall under the skin transfer policy. If you’re worried about a specific rare skin you earned, you can check Blizzard’s official support page for a full list of excluded items, but most players won’t run into any issues here.
How to Make Sure All Your Skins Transfer Correctly
Now that you know the answer to do my skins transfer to Overwatch 2 is almost always yes, you need to follow a few simple steps to make sure your entire collection shows up when you first log in. The most important step is completing the account merge process, which was available for all players in the months leading up to Overwatch 2’s launch, and is still available for returning players today. You only need to complete the merge process once, and it will link all of your console and PC accounts to a single Battle.net profile, combining all of your cosmetics into one collection.
To start the merge, log into your Battle.net account on a desktop, go to the Overwatch 2 section, and select the “Account Merge” option. You’ll be prompted to log into any console accounts you have linked to Overwatch, and confirm that you want to combine their inventories. Once you confirm the merge, it can take up to 24 hours for all of your skins to appear in your Overwatch 2 inventory, so don’t panic if you don’t see everything right after you log in for the first time.
You also want to make sure that all of your accounts are in good standing, with no active bans or restrictions. If any of your linked accounts have a temporary or permanent ban, the entire merge process will be blocked until the ban is resolved. If you have multiple Battle.net accounts, you can only merge one set of accounts to a single Overwatch 2 profile, so pick the account that has the largest collection of skins to make sure you don’t lose any of your favorite items. Never share your account login details with anyone claiming to help you speed up the merge process, as this is a common scam targeting returning Overwatch players.
What to Do If Your Skins Don’t Show Up After Transfer
Even if you follow all of the steps correctly, there’s a small chance some of your skins won’t appear in your Overwatch 2 inventory right away. This is more common for players with very large collections, or players who have accounts linked across three or more different platforms. The first thing you should do is wait at least 48 hours after completing your account merge, as transfer delays are common during peak play periods like new season launches or event drops.
If your skins are still missing after 48 hours, you can submit a support ticket to Blizzard through the Battle.net help center, with screenshots of your original Overwatch inventory if you have them. Most missing skin tickets are resolved within 72 hours, as long as you can prove you owned the items on one of your linked accounts. You should also make sure you provide the correct gamertags or account IDs for all of your linked profiles when you submit the ticket, to speed up the verification process.
You should also double-check that you logged into the correct Battle.net account when you launched Overwatch 2. It’s very common for players to accidentally create a new Battle.net account when they download the game, instead of logging into their old account that has all of their original skins. If that’s the case, simply log out of the new account and log into your original one, and your skins should appear immediately. You can also check your in-game collection filter settings, as sometimes new players accidentally turn off filters for certain skin tiers or event categories, making it look like their skins are missing when they’re just hidden.
At the end of the day, the answer to do my skins transfer to Overwatch 2 is almost always a yes, as long as you take the time to complete the account merge process correctly and make sure all of your accounts are in good standing. You don’t have to worry about losing the hundreds of hours you spent grinding for your favorite event skins, or the money you spent on limited-edition legendary cosmetics. If you run into issues, Blizzard’s support team is usually quick to help resolve missing item tickets, so you can get back to playing with your favorite skin equipped in no time. Just remember to link all of your console accounts before you start the merge process, and be patient if your collection takes a little while to appear fully.