Kinda annoyed by seeing yet another free weekend announced in the launcher to draw more people in, yet a bit of appreciation for those already playing seems too much to ask for.
Don’t possibly allow for existing players to get a couple more event loot boxes!
Third free weekend since the anniversary. So nice to feel appreciated.
You people just need to get a grip and cheer up!
I see where you are coming from, but it’s pretty inconsiderate of you to think only of yourself and ignore the new players who want to play, but don’t have the time or budget.
Who said that it would have to be exclusive ?
It’s only Blizzard being inconsiderate here because they could easily do both at the same time and make everyone happy.
But it looks like the game is quickly turned into an advertising platform for related services. Whats the occasion for the next free weekend? What are they actually trying to sell? Last time it was something OWL. Right now Summer Games seemingly don’t matter at all with that annoying skin advertisement on the main screen that can’t be turned off.
Yeah… somebody seems to be losing grip alright. Ain’t me, though.
Considering your response, I’m guessing you’re not well inversed in game development or the size of the Overwatch dev team.
Is that better or worse than being “inconsiderate”? 
So despite being inconsiderate, considering yet another argument ad hominem, I’m guessing you’re just a troll. How about you just move along?
The biggest problem with free weekend is the countless smurfs pestering the game…
I like it because it allows me to play with my friends who have much much more lower MMR because I can just switch accounts. That being said it induces smurfing very heavily which is a negative I guess.
My opinion: Why not both?
If both events happen at the same time, wouldn’t that encourage even more players to play smurfs?
But it may be possible if the free weekend players are excluded from the double xp event.
Exactly the part I don’t understand. It’s not like activating the already existing routine would require more effort than changing the main screen for new advertisement like it’s done right now.
Certainly can’t blame them for trying to sell more copies, but if the sale of related services is all that matters now, then why not give existing accounts a good reason to check back in while showing some appreciation to those who haven’t left yet?
Would you rather have all that sweet XP, levels, endorsements and cosmetics on you main account or just some throw away smurf account you’re probably never going to use after the free weekend? I’d rather have them on my main account so I feel bad for smurfing
Free weekend bring more players in (more money and new players) but double XP weekend only brings back old players with the cost of less lootbox sales due to more players getting more free lootboxes (less money and more players) so from a business perspective this is the best option for them
Hold on, there’s a second problem with new players getting double xp. They all would get to the competitive mode twice as fast and this means that even less experienced players are in competitive games. Smurfs also had to play less to be able to play comp games.
EDIT: I had a misconception regardind the free weekend so that argument isn’t true.
There has to be some safety measures like only enabling double xp to purchased accounts or enabling it at lvl 25.
Last double XP weekend was during the anniversary. What was the actual impact on competitive play? Wouldn’t the actual “safeguard” be Blizzard’s claim that it shouldn’t take more than 10 games for any MMR to properly adjust? As far as I remember it wasn’t even possible with the free client to enter Comp. The current announcement doesn’t mention it either:
For this free weekend, we’re making Overwatch’s full roster of 28 heroes—along with the newly released Wrecking Ball—and 18 maps available for play in a variety of modes, including Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Arcade.
and more specific in the FAQ:
Q. What different play modes are available in Overwatch during the Free Weekend?
A. There are a variety of ways to play Overwatch during the Free Weekend!
Quick Play: Jump into a game against other players of similar skill.
Play vs. AI: Hone your skills against a team of AI-controlled heroes.
Custom Game: Customize the rules and play a game with your friends or AI.
Arcade: Change things up with alternate games modes featuring different rules sets and restrictions.
No comp. No smurfs.
Oh, I wasn’t aware of that.
In that case, let them make both events at once ![:smiley:](https://d1kzxbyyijk9k6.cloudfront.net/en/overwatch/images/emoji/twitter/smiley.png?v=6" ":smiley:")
And thanks for clearing up my misconception.
Probably advertising whatever theyre revealing at gamescom
Maybe they are losing players and need the free weekends.
Nah. Gamescom doesn’t matter. It’s that OWL All-Star thing, just like the last one was for OWL playoffs or something. Funny how that’s almost an all Korean Thing with Kaplan et al being in Korea this weekend as well. Guess Custa has to show up for the quota. Poor guy.
I’d rather pull my eyes out.
If you’re looking for more lootboxes, they could potentially do something like the arcade system for an event. Giving double XP? How often do they do that? I’m like, level 300 and I’m not proud of that. 
I’m not sure I would want to get double XP as it really only correlates to how much time I’ve put towards the game. Extra lootboxes? YES. Higher level at faster rates? Eeehhh…
Oh yea! and also it costs more money to get the game than keep the game. More opportunities to show people they’d enjoy the game means more people buying the game. More people buying the game the more possibilities they can convince their friends to AND the potential people will spend money on lootboxes.
I don’t see why people need a free weekend on PS4 if smurf accounts are already free in the first place.