Blizzard has overhauled Overwatch's battle pass for Season 4, splitting it into separate skin-focused "tracks" that players can complete in any order, but the redesign has drawn criticism for pushing most free and paid currency to the very end of the pass. Previously, players earned gold coins and Mythic Prisms steadily throughout the season, making it relatively easy to accumulate enough for shop skins or a future pass without spending money. Under the new system, that currency is now largely locked behind completing every optional track first, meaning free-to-play players face a much longer grind before seeing meaningful rewards.

Under the old format, 600 gold coins were spread out roughly every 20 tiers, letting players who only completed part of the pass still walk away with 200–400 coins. Now, only 200 coins are available early (at tier 12, and only via a specific track), with the remaining 400 coins and 30 Mythic Prisms locked in a final track that unlocks only after finishing all other tracks. Mythic Prisms, needed to buy customisable mythic skins, have similarly been backloaded, with a full skin set costing 80–110 prisms. Blizzard is also allowing players to revisit past battle passes at any time, similar to Marvel Rivals and Call of Duty, though old passes will no longer include currency rewards. Many players on Reddit have criticised the changes as unfairly punishing free-to-play users and pressuring them towards the paid "ultimate" pass.