Overwatch is getting a new currency exclusively for esports skins

We wondered back in October if the advent of the Overwatch League meant that players would be given the opportunity dress up their Overwatch avatars in OWL-themed skins. Today, Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer confirmed that the answer is yes: "Home team uniforms" for all OWL teams will be available for purchase early next year. 

League skins will be available for all Overwatch heroes, and will be purchasable with Overwatch League tokens, a separate in-game currency that Nanzer said will enable Blizzard to ensure that League-based revenues are properly distributed between the teams. The token system will be used for all OWL-related in-game items, and players who log into the game within a month of the League's launch will be given enough tokens to buy their first skin.

On the surface, the system isn't too dissimilar from what we've seen in games like CS:GO, which have esports-specific cosmetic crates and in-game player autograph stickers that support the pro scene.

Nanzer didn't reveal anything about token pricing, or whether they'll be available to earn in the game. What you can be sure of is that with 12 teams, 26 heroes on each, and a burning Pokémon-like need to have 'em all, you're going to need a lot of them. I've reached out to Blizzard to inquire about token costs and availability, and will update if I receive a reply. I do wonder a currency exchange will become a feature, allowing players to convert credits into tokens.

Also unrevealed are the OWL team skins themselves, although a few team pages have partial lineups modeling their colors that you can lay eyes on below. Redditor fireyREIGN also made life a little easier by assembling the team logos and a sample skin for each into a single image.