Companies want to promote a new item. That shouldn’t be surprising.
But if Stadium didn’t exist there would be nothing to promote.
Stadium existing means you at least have the option of playing it to get the incentives.
Thinking you’d still get promotional items if there was nothing to promote is delusional.
Overwatch has actual competition now, so the giveaways are promoting players to keep playing Overwatch as much as they are promoting a specific mode.
I was somewhat understanding for the first set of Stadium exclusive drops, but at this point everyone has tried Stadium and had plenty of time to decide if its for them or not. There’s no need to keep tying rewards to the mode. Similarly, if new content releases for non-Stadium modes it would be messed up to force Stadium die-hards to play modes they don’t enjoy.
Different modes giving different rewards is one of the most universal things one sees in games.
In Overwatch it might be bonus lootboxes for playing arcade, or comp points for playing comp.
In other games it might be raids giving different rewards than solo quests.
This idea that you can play a game however you want and just get everything literally doesn’t exist.
It honestly comes off as extremely entitled.
If you want the rewards a mode offers, play the mode. If not, you don’t get the incentives.
It really is that simple.
Give the person who came with SF Kiri voiceline a raise. I love it.
Keep in mind it’s the launching season; they’re going to promote it. The same way last season every week there was an event challenge to get 5 loot boxes, and now it doesn’t exist. They’ll likely balance out the loot box attainment through other modes next season.