25 Best Seasonal Events In Live-Service Games

Seasonal events keep live-service games feeling fresh, pulling players back with new modes, time limited challenges, and themed rewards that only show up for a short window. The best ones remix familiar locations, add playful twists, and deliver cosmetics you can only earn if you jump in before the timer runs out. Many also pack in bonus progression and community goals so everyone works toward shared milestones. Here are standout seasonal traditions across popular games that reliably turn a regular month into a special occasion.

Destiny 2

Festival of the Lost brings haunted sectors, unique masks, and event cards that guide limited time objectives with special cosmetic rewards. The Dawning follows with oven baking style gift crafting that sends players across activities to collect ingredients and deliver packages. Guardian Games arrives in spring with class based competitions that fill podiums based on medals earned in playlists. Each event includes an earnable title and a vendor track so you can target weapons and ornaments before the event ends.

Overwatch 2

Halloween Terror rotates arcade modes like Junkenstein themed co-op missions and weekly challenges that unlock event skins. Winter Wonderland returns each holiday season with limited time brawls such as Mei focused snowball fights and cozy cosmetics. Lunar New Year adds capture the flag variants and themed player icons with additional weekly rewards. Anniversary celebrations often bundle returning modes and give event credits to pick past skins from a rotating shop.

Apex Legends

Holo-Day Bash transforms the Winter Express into a control style train capture mode where squads fight across moving carriages. Anniversary Events drop collection sets that unlock a special heirloom or mythic cosmetic once you obtain the full lineup. Limited time takeovers like Shadow Royale on a night map add respawns and spooky twists for Halloween. Each event track includes badges, weapon charms, and skins tied to challenges across battle royale and mixtape playlists.

Call of Duty: Warzone

The Haunting overlays maps with nighttime variants, jump scare contracts, and monsters that add high risk rewards during October. Holiday events bring snowball themed modes, special supply boxes, and festive operator bundles you can only grab for a few weeks. Anniversary updates commonly drop limited camos that require completing challenge lists across battle royale and respawn modes. Timed community progress bars unlock global rewards when everyone completes enough event actions.

Genshin Impact

Lantern Rite lights up Liyue with minigames, fireworks, and a free four star character selection through event currency. Windblume Festival in Mondstadt focuses on rhythm and shooting galleries with story quests that reveal local traditions. Summertime events open special islands or domains filled with time limited puzzles and co-op activities. Each seasonal run lets you claim weapon refinements, crowns of insight, and exclusive furnishings for your teapot.

Final Fantasy XIV

All Saints’ Wake decorates Gridania with haunted attractions and a short quest line that grants themed glamour pieces. Starlight Celebration in December adds snowy festivities, an original song, and a seasonal mount or outfit. Heavensturn brings New Year trials and masks inspired by the zodiac animal for that year. Each event returns annually with new items while older rewards rotate through vendors so latecomers can catch up.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Witches Festival hands out a memento that boosts experience and opens daily boss hunts for plunder skulls filled with motifs and furnishings. New Life Festival closes the year with repeatable activities across every alliance that award gift boxes and style pages. Anniversary Jubilee showers crafting materials and event tickets when you complete daily writs and group content. Tickets can be traded for mounts and collectibles at the Impresario during the event window.

Guild Wars 2

Shadow of the Mad King brings the Mad King’s Labyrinth, clock tower jumping puzzle, and festival currencies for armor skins. Wintersday turns Divinity’s Reach into a toy filled hub with snowball fights, bell choir rhythm games, and charity themed gift delivery. Lunar New Year features fireworks in Divinity’s Reach and lucky envelopes with gold and cosmetic drops. Each festival includes achievements that return yearly so you can chip away at long term rewards.

Warframe

Nights of Naberus celebrates Halloween on Deimos with a vendor selling limited cosmetics and weapon skins for event currency. Star Days arrives in February with gifts from Ticker on Fortuna and special heart themed items. Dog Days in the summer swaps firearms for water blasters in a beach arena and awards exclusive accessories. Seasonal runs often revive previous items so newcomers can complete their collections.

Diablo IV

Midwinter Blight brings snowbound strongholds, special crafting reagents, and a cosmetic shopfront that unlocks as you clear event objectives. Blood harvest style rotations add seasonal monsters and shared world activities that reward unique materials. Time limited dungeons and world bosses drop resources needed to build event only ensembles. Progress is tracked on a dedicated tab so you see exactly what to do before the end date.

Pokémon GO

Halloween spans two parts with costumed Pokémon in the wild, bonus candy, and themed raids. Winter holidays add special spawns, timed research, and a festive map makeover with avatar items. Lunar New Year focuses on lucky trades and red themed Pokémon with increased shiny chances during event hours. Each season also layers unique field research tasks so you can chase event exclusive encounters.

Rocket League

Haunted Hallows partners with familiar spooky brands and brings challenge lists for toppers, decals, and goal explosions. Frosty Fest decorates arenas with snow and offers winter wheels and player anthems through timed challenges. Spring events add egg hunts or basketball returns in casual queues for a limited period. Event tokens let you pick items from a shop before they leave the rotation.

Dead by Daylight

Haunted by Daylight introduces the Void energy loop where survivors and killers interact with special altars for themed rewards. Winter events bring snowmen you can use as mobile cover and exchangeable gifts for charms and outfits. Lunar New Year adds red envelope interactions that grant bloodpoints and cosmetics when triggered. Each run ties into the rift and archive challenges so you earn progress while you play.

Sea of Thieves

Festival of Giving rewards crews for donating gifts and completing voyages that send you across the Sea of Thieves. Community Day style events boost gold and reputation while unlocking cosmetics when global milestones are hit. Seasonal festivities often add time limited voyages that feature unique enemies or map mechanics. Pirate Emporium updates bring event themed emotes, ship sets, and pets that match the holiday.

Halo Infinite

Winter Contingency delivers a free event pass with holiday coatings, visors, and armor attachments unlocked through daily challenges. Fracture events return with playlist specific objectives that fill a separate reward track. Themed operations later in the year bring short bursts of earnable cosmetics tied to limited queues. Event progress carries across sessions but only the active window lets you claim the items.

Rainbow Six Siege

Snow Brawl drops a capture the flag snowball fight where operators swap gadgets for winter gear and special pickups. April events remix classic maps with arcade modifiers and reward animated charms and uniforms. Halloween brings Doctor’s Curse with monster hunters and destructible cover in a spooky rework. Event packs and challenges provide free pulls alongside shop bundles for the duration.

Splatoon 3

Splatfests run on a weekend cadence with citywide concerts, tricolor turf war shifts, and exclusive titles for your profile. Big Run turns Salmon Run into a city invasion with community high score thresholds that grant statues. Seasonal catalogs refresh with event themed gear you can only complete during the current season. Fest specific decorations and music transform the plaza to match the theme.

Monster Hunter: World

Seasonal festivals cycle through the Gathering Hub with decorations, free daily vouchers, and layered armor tickets. Limited bounties rotate to grant festival currency used for unique outfits and weapons. Appreciation fests celebrate milestones with boosted drop rates and returning event quests. Each festival stacks previous event quests so newcomers can craft items they missed.

Fallout 76

Fasnacht Day recruits players to escort mask wearing robots through a small town parade to earn collectible masks. Halloween adds trick or treat mechanics at player camps and daily challenges for themed rewards. Holiday Scorched replace enemies with festive variants that drop gift boxes and plans. Bonus weekends often overlap with events to increase experience and loot.

World of Tanks

Holiday Ops turns your garage into a festive village where you place decorations to boost credits and crew experience. Missions grant ornament boxes and a celebrity host guides progression each year. Special objectives award a unique tank or commander when you hit collection milestones. The event also includes discounts on vehicle research and improved drop rates for boosters.

World of Warships

Halloween scenarios send fleets into spooky operations with monsters and special abilities on limited maps. Lunar New Year and Anniversary events offer themed containers with camos, commanders, and premium time. Dockyard events sometimes align with the season and let you build a ship by clearing sequential missions. Port visuals and music change to match the celebration during the event window.

Black Desert Online

Terrmian Waterpark opens in the summer with fishing, minigames, and daily quests for exclusive swimsuits and furnishings. Halloween brings ghost hunts and puzzle quests around main cities with themed pets and furniture. Winter events add hot time buffs and snowman crafting that rewards seasonal gear. Each run features login rewards that stack with event currency from simple activities.

RuneScape

Halloween quests deliver short stories with cosmetic outfits, emotes, and a seasonal hub full of skilling activities. Christmas brings a snow covered Lumbridge with repeatable tasks that grant festive pets and capes. Springtime events introduce community goals where everyone contributes resources to unlock rewards. Daily challenges and Treasure Hunter promos align with the theme for extra prizes.

Old School RuneScape

Holiday quests offer one off adventures that grant toys, emotes, and outfits which never return in the same form. Events are quick to complete and designed for all account types including fresh characters. World decorations and themed music bring a nostalgic feel to major cities. Rewards are cosmetic only so you can participate without affecting long term balance.

Lost Ark

Arktoberfest celebrates the season with steins, event tokens, and island quests that hand out cosmetics and rapport gifts. Summer Maharaka festival adds water themed games on a special island with exchange shops for collectibles. Winter events include daily tasks that reward card packs, honing materials, and holiday skins. Timed raids and login bonuses stack to speed progression during the celebration.

Share your favorite limited time events and the rewards you never miss in the comments.