If you’re a former Overwatch 1 player hopping back into the franchise for the first time in a few years, you probably have a library of rare, hard-earned cosmetics sitting in your old account. You might have grinded for weeks to unlock the Oni Genji skin during the original 2017 promotion, or dropped actual money on the limited-time Pink Mercy charity skin to support breast cancer research. The first question on your mind, right after you download the game, is do skins transfer to Overwatch 2. I went through this exact panic back when OW2 first launched, I had over 320 legacy skins saved up and was convinced I’d lose all of them if I logged in wrong. After testing the migration process myself and helping dozens of friends move their accounts over, I’ve put together everything you need to know to keep all your favorite cosmetics intact.
Do Skins Transfer to Overwatch 2: Which Cosmetics Carry Over and Which Don't
The short answer is that almost all of your Overwatch 1 cosmetics will move over to OW2, as long as you complete the account linking process correctly. Blizzard made a promise early on that players wouldn’t lose years of earned or purchased content when the sequel launched, and they followed through on that for the vast majority of items. That said, there are a few exceptions you need to be aware of before you start the migration process.
I made a dumb mistake when I migrated my account that cost me a handful of rare sprays and a legendary Soldier: 76 skin I never got around to equipping, so I’ve put together a clear list of what does and doesn’t transfer to help you avoid my error:
- All unlocked OW1 skins, including limited-time event skins like Halloween Terror and Summer Games cosmetics
- Sprays, emotes, victory poses, voice lines, and player icons earned or purchased in OW1
- Unspent Overwatch League tokens and Legacy Credits from your original OW1 account
- OW1 competitive points (these are converted to legacy credits at a rate of 1 competitive point = 1 legacy credit)
- Unopened OW1 loot boxes (these do NOT transfer, so you must open all of them before accessing OW2 for the first time)
I forgot I had 12 unopened loot boxes saved up for a rainy day, and they were gone forever once I logged into OW2 for the first time. Don’t make that same mistake, take 10 minutes to log into OW1 first if you still have access, and open every last loot box before you start the merge process.
How to Make Sure Your Skins Transfer Correctly to Overwatch 2
The most important step to get all your skins over to OW2 is linking your accounts properly, especially if you played Overwatch 1 on multiple platforms like Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC. Blizzard’s cross-progression system lets you merge all your console profiles into one primary Battle.net account, so you can access all your skins no matter what device you play on.
First, log into your official Battle.net account on the Blizzard website, head to the Connections tab, and link every console account you used to play OW1. Double check that you’re linking the right profiles, because You only have one chance to merge your accounts and you can’t undo the process once it’s confirmed. If you have multiple separate Battle.net accounts, you can only merge one of them into your active OW2 account, so pick the one with the most valuable cosmetics.
Once you confirm the merge, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to 72 hours for all your items to show up in your OW2 account. I had a friend who had over 500 cosmetics, and it took almost three full days for all his skins to sync over. Don’t panic if some items are missing right after you log in for the first time, give it at least three days before you reach out to support.
Common Issues That Stop Skins From Transferring to Overwatch 2
Most players don’t run into any issues with their skin migration, but there are a few common mistakes that can cause items to go missing permanently or temporarily. The most frequent issue I see is people logging into the wrong Battle.net account when they first launch OW2. A lot of players have old, forgotten Battle.net accounts from their childhood, and if you accidentally make a new account instead of using your original OW1 account, none of your skins will show up.
Make sure you're using the same primary Battle.net account you used for OW1 unless you intentionally merged a different console profile. If you’re sure you’re using the right account and items are still missing after 72 hours, check your account region settings. If your original OW1 account was tied to a different region than your current OW2 account, some cosmetics might not sync until you switch your region back to match your original one.
Permanent account bans also block migration. If your original OW1 account had a permanent ban for cheating, toxicity, or breaking Blizzard’s terms of service, none of your cosmetics will transfer over to OW2, even if the ban is years old. Temporary bans that expired before OW2 launched don’t affect migration at all, so you don’t have to worry about that old 24 hour silence ban from 2019 messing up your skin transfer.
How to Get Old OW1 Skins if You Didn't Play the Original Game
If you’re a brand new player who never touched Overwatch 1, you might be jealous of all the cool legacy skins returning players are rocking, and wonder if you can get them for yourself. The good news is that most OW1 skins are still accessible for new players, you just have to wait for them to show up in the shop or during seasonal events.
Legacy skins rotate into the OW2 item shop every few weeks, usually priced at 1900 Overwatch Coins, or 1500 Legacy Credits if you earned any from limited-time challenges. All original seasonal event skins also come back during their corresponding annual events, so Halloween Terror skins show up every October, Winter Wonderland skins every December, and so on. You can earn most of these skins for free by completing event challenges, or buy them directly with Overwatch Coins if you don’t want to grind.
There are a small handful of OW1 skins that are truly unobtainable for new players, including the Pink Mercy charity skin, the BlizzCon 2014 Winston skin, and the original PS4 exclusive Demon Hunter Sombra skin. Blizzard has repeatedly stated they have no plans to re-release these exclusive skins, so don’t fall for online scams that claim they can sell you a code for these items. Never share your account login details with anyone claiming to sell rare unobtainable skins, as these are almost always phishing scams that will steal your account and all your existing cosmetics.
At the end of the day, if you’re a returning player asking do skins transfer to Overwatch 2, the answer is almost always yes, as long as you take the time to link your accounts correctly and open all your old loot boxes before merging. I still use my original Oni Genji skin almost every game, 7 years after I earned it, and it’s nice that Blizzard let players carry over all their hard earned cosmetics instead of making everyone start from scratch. If you’re still having issues with missing skins after a week, reach out to Blizzard support with proof of ownership of your old account, and they’ll usually fix the issue within a few business days. Now go jump into a quick play match and show off those old legacy skins you worked so hard for.