Overwatch Summer Games 2021 kicks off July 20 with some new summer skins

Cool hat, B.O.B.

The heroes and villains of Overwatch are celebrating the summer weather once again. Tomorrow, July 20, marks the start of the 2021 Overwatch Summer Games, with a slew of new cosmetics in store for its various heroes.

The Summer Games are one of several annual events for Overwatch, this one in particular celebrating the hotter weather and sporting events of the summer. Alongside new skins to earn, there’s also usually the inclusion of the special game mode Lucioball, though the three-on-three game of sonic soccer hasn’t been officially confirmed for this year’s festivities yet.

What has been locked in are three of the headliner skins. Symmetra, Mei, and Ashe all get some fancy new costumes; Symettra goes nautical with a Mermaid skin, and Mei is getting the Sprinkles skin, but can we talk about B.O.B.’s hat that comes with Ashe’s Poolside skin? The lil’ flamingo is actually incredible.

Oh Snap!

Overwatch Summer Games returns on July 20! pic.twitter.com/7ViDfCxGq6

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 18, 2021

I’m a little more excited about this seasonal event than other ones, just because with crossplay finally available, I’m not having to make a tough choice between playing with my friends on another platform or keeping all my cosmetics in one place. Granted, there’s no cross-progression as of yet, but at least I know that I can start building up skins on one platform and not worry about being able to play with others.

The Overwatch team is still building up to Overwatch 2, the upcoming sequel and retooling of Overwatch that won’t just add some more PvE content, but switch up the way PvP plays too. Blizzard recently announced that Overwatch‘s competitive matches would swap to five-on-five with the launch of Overwatch 2, so please send your condolences to your tank-playing friends.

It might be a ways off still, but I’m down for seeing how the crossplay holds up and grinding for some boxes with friends. If anything, I just need that B.O.B. hat. Overwatch Summer Games 2021 will run from July 20 through Aug. 10, 2021.