Overwatch Battle Pass Explained: Price, Tracks and Tier Hack

Last checked: November 9, 2026.

The Overwatch Battle Pass is an 80-tier reward track that comes with every season. Everyone gets the free track, and the Premium Battle Pass costs 1,000 Overwatch Coins. Since Season 4 in August 2026, the pass is split into shorter tracks you can complete in any order, and Premium owners can swap one skin for a different one.

Battle Pass prices

For Season 5, the two extra Ultimate skins are Crimson Regent Doctrine and Ghost Voyager Venture. The Ultimate bundle pays you back 2,000 coins, which is enough for two future Premium passes at 1,000 each.

You can buy the Premium pass at any point in the season. Blizzard's rule since 2022 is that Premium rewards for tiers you've already reached unlock as soon as you buy, so buying late doesn't cost you anything.

How the Battle Pass works since Season 4

Before August 2026, every reward sat on one long line, so a skin at tier 70 meant playing almost the whole season to reach it. The revamp, launched with Season 4 on August 11, 2026, changed the order but not the total length. It's still 80 tiers.

Here's how the new structure works:

1. Intro track: every season starts with a short introductory track that ends with a Legendary skin.
2. Pick a track: you then choose one of five tracks. Each one is a short run of roughly 8 to 10 tiers with a Legendary or Epic skin at the end.
3. Switch anytime: you can change your active track whenever you like, so you can chase the skin you want first.
4. Finish the rest: after all five tracks, one final track takes you to tier 80.
5. Prestige: past tier 80 you keep earning prestige titles for the rest of the season.

Your Battle Pass XP always goes to the track you have selected.

The Tier Hack

Buying the Premium pass gives you one Tier Hack per Battle Pass. It lets you replace the skin at the end of any track with a Legendary skin from that season's Swap Pool, a hand-picked list of older shop and Loot Box skins. The pool changes every season and always includes tanks, damage heroes and supports.

Season 5's pool includes Witch Kiriko, Streetwear Hazard, Magma Sombra and Evening Wear Tracer, among others. If none of the pass skins are for heroes you play, this is the way to get something you'll actually use.

What's in the Season 5 Battle Pass

Season 5, A Grim Doctrine, started on October 6, 2026, with a Halloween theme:

• Legendary skins: Ghostly Belle Ashe, Jack O' Ripper Soldier: 76, Ghost Bride Mei, Bat Empress Junker Queen and Autumn Fox Zenyatta.
• Epic skins: Skelly Bastion, Witching Hour Brigitte and Spectral Shroud Symmetra.
• Mythic Prisms: up to 80, enough to fully unlock this season's Mythic skins, Dragon Shaoxia Wuyang and the Treblemaker weapon for Lúcio, or other Mythics in the Mythic Shop.
• Other cosmetics and currency, such as sprays, icons and Overwatch Coins.

Mythic Prisms explained

Mythic Prisms are the currency for Mythic skins, the most customizable cosmetics in the game. You spend them in the Mythic Shop. Blizzard set the price structure when the shop launched in 2024: a Mythic hero skin unlocks for 50 Prisms, each further level costs 10, and the full skin costs 80. That's why the Premium pass gives up to 80 Prisms. Finish it and you can own one season's Mythic completely.

Older Mythics return to the Mythic Shop two seasons after their debut, so Prisms from any season can go toward an earlier Mythic you missed.

Unvaulted Battle Passes

Season 5 added Unvaulted Passes, which bring back old Battle Passes:

• Revised passes from Overwatch 2 Seasons 1 to 15 are for sale in the shop's Unvaulted Battle Pass tab.
• If you already bought one of those passes, you can activate it for free, and your old progress carries over.
• Free-track progress counts too, so buying an Unvaulted Pass unlocks the Premium rewards up to the tier you'd already reached.
• You can have one Unvaulted Pass active at a time. It levels up from the same XP as the current Battle Pass.
• When you finish one, the next available pass is activated automatically unless you choose another.
• Once you own an Unvaulted Pass, it never expires.

They don't include everything from the original passes. Mythic skins, Mythic Prisms, Overwatch Coins, XP boosts and player titles are left out.

How to level the Battle Pass faster

Battle Pass XP comes from playing matches, and a big share comes from challenges. To level efficiently:

• Do your daily and weekly challenges. Blizzard treats challenges as a main source of Battle Pass XP, and weekly challenge milestones add bonus XP on top.
• Play event modes and complete event challenges. Many events, like the Halloween voting event in Season 5, give Battle Pass XP as part of their rewards.
• Play on New or Reworked maps when they come up in the map vote. Since April 2026, those maps give bonus Battle Pass XP in Quick Play.
• Save time for Double XP. Double XP is on during Junkrat's Loot Hunt, which ends on November 23, 2026.

Tier skips you buy beyond tier 80 aren't wasted. They're banked and applied automatically at the start of the next season.

Is the Premium Battle Pass worth it?

If you play most weeks, the Premium pass is the best value in the shop. For 1,000 coins you get eight Legendary or Epic skins, a Tier Hack skin of your choice and enough Prisms for a full Mythic. The pass also pays out some Overwatch Coins, which you can put toward the next one.

If you only play now and then, the free track is fine. Thanks to Unvaulted Passes, you can also buy a past pass later and keep your progress.

For other ways to spend your time in the game, read our roles and sub-roles guide or see how the Competitive ranks work.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Overwatch Battle Pass?

The Premium Battle Pass costs 1,000 Overwatch Coins. The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle, which adds 20 tier skips, two extra Legendary skins and 2,000 coins, is $39.99 on the US PlayStation Store for Season 5.

How many tiers are in the Overwatch Battle Pass?

There are 80 tiers. Since the Season 4 revamp, they're split into an intro track, five tracks you can do in any order and one final track, with prestige titles after tier 80.

What is the Tier Hack in Overwatch?

It's a once-per-pass swap for Premium owners. You can replace the skin at the end of one track with a Legendary skin from that season's Swap Pool of older shop and Loot Box skins.

Can you buy old Overwatch Battle Passes?

Yes. Since Season 5, revised passes from Overwatch 2 Seasons 1 to 15 are sold as Unvaulted Passes in the shop. They don't include Mythic skins, Mythic Prisms, coins, XP boosts or player titles.

Does the Premium Battle Pass include Mythic skins?

It gives up to 80 Mythic Prisms, which is enough to unlock a Mythic skin fully in the Mythic Shop. You pick which Mythic to spend them on.

Do you keep Battle Pass progress if you buy Premium late?

Yes. Premium rewards for tiers you already reached unlock as soon as you buy the pass, so there's no penalty for waiting.