When is the Overwatch Lunar New Year Event happening in 2022? Here’s everything you need to know about the start date, and the Legendary and Epic skins.

Overwatch’s Lunar New Year event is the first to happen during the calendar year, and brings a whole slew of traditional-style cosmetics to the game.

2022 is symbolized by the fearsome tiger in the Lunar calendar, and there are three new epic skins for players to collect as well.

So, when does the Overwatch Lunar New Year event for 2022 begin? What skins and game modes can we expect to see? Here’s all the info you need to know.

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Overwatch Lunar New Year Event 2022: Start & end dates

Dates for the 2022 event were announced the weekend before the festivities for Year of the Tiger officially kicked off. Overwatch’s Lunar New Year runs for exactly three weeks, from Tuesday, January 25 to Tuesday, February 15.

This goes right along with past start dates, which are listed down below:

• 2017 Year of the Rooster: January 24 – February 5
• 2018 Year of the Dog: February 8 –March 5
• 2019 Year of the Pig: January 24 – February 18
• 2020 Year of the Rat: January 16 – February 5
• 2021 Year of the Ox: February 4 – February 25

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Overwatch Year of the Tiger begins Jan 25. pic.twitter.com/ens818B2kV

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) January 23, 2022

Overwatch Lunar New Year Event: Skins

Unlike past Overwatch events, the skin offerings are a little light for Year of the Tiger. There are only two Legendary skins for Mercy and Tracer, and three Epics for the weekly challenges for Ashe, Soldier, and Wrecking Ball.

Legendary skins can be bought with tokens (or earned through random drops in loot boxes,) whereas Epic skins take a little more time to unlock.

These event-locked skins require players to play three allotments of nine games (you do not need to win, but each win nets you two games,) where you’ll be given not just the skin itself, but also some other cosmetic goodies:

• 9 games: Icon based on the Epic Skin
• 18 games: Spray based on the Epic Skin
• 27 games: Epic Skin

Additionally, all of the Legendary skins from previous Lunar New Years will be available for purchase during the event period, so if you missed out on the likes of Kkachi Echo (one of our favorite skins of 2021) or Pale Serpent Widowmaker, you’ll have a second chance to add them to your collection.

Lunar New Year Modes: Bounty Hunter, Capture the Flag

As of last year, Overwatch’s Lunar New Year event adds three new modes to the game: Bounty Hunter, Capture the Flag, and Capture the Flag Blitz. The former is the most recent addition to the pool, having made its debut in 2021.

• Bounty Hunter: The player who gets the first kill of the match becomes a Target, and everyone else a Bounty Hunter. Earn extra points by killing the Target, but beware—if you land the killing blow on a Target, you become the next one.
• Capture the Flag: Each team attempts to secure the enemy flag and return it to their base while preventing the opposing team from doing the same. Three captures will win you the match.
• Capture the Flag Blitz: With both teams’ flags much closer together, six captures are now needed to win the match instead of the traditional three.

So that’s everything you need to know about the Overwatch Lunar New Year event for 2022! As more information emerges we’ll keep this page updated, but in the meantime check out our dedicated Overwatch news page.

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