When it was first revealed that Overwatch 2 was going to be embracing high profile collaborations with other franchises, the fan base was understandably concerned. Overwatch 2 has always had its own identity, and though live service games like Fortnite have thrived due to their many crossovers, strange collaborations like Call of Duty’s Shredder operator would understandably be a step too far for fans. Fortunately, the series’ first major partnership has been handled perfectly, and it bodes well for future team-ups.
Instead of replacing Overwatch 2 heroes with anime characters and stripping them of their personality, or adding a character from another property into the game, Blizzard has gone the cosplay route. This was a brilliant decision that has won many fans over, as it allows the heroes to maintain their appearances and identities while still delivering content that is accurate to the source material. This is not the only smart decision made with the event, though, as players can find several reasons to be optimistic about the future when looking at the ongoing One-Punch Man event.
Overwatch 2’s Approach to Collaborations Shows a Lot of Promise
First and foremost, Blizzard knocked the ball out of the park when it came to its advertising for the One-Punch Man content. Alongside numerous entertaining posts on social media, a flashy trailer for the event was released that showed off all the new skins, perfectly recreating the One-Punch Man opening credits and including its theme song. Once players load into the actual game, they can see an entertaining menu screen of Doomfist in his Saitama skin working out, with intentionally choppy animations that make his movement look more accurate to an anime.
Blizzard did not have to go the extra mile with the trailer and the menu screen, but both show how much effort has gone into the event. This thoroughness extended to the skin lineup itself, as some fans likely expected Saitama to be the only skin on offer. Fortunately, Blizzard dives much deeper into One-Punch Man with its crossover, offering four different skins in total. This is a great sign for the future, as it suggests that each collaboration will bring a proper series of skins instead of being limited to only one or two cosmetics.
Another major strength of the collaboration is that One-Punch Man fans can unlock a Mumen Rider skin for Soldier: 76 without spending any money on credits. By simply playing and winning matches, they can unlock this cosmetic as well as a handful of other items like a charm, highlight intro, and name card. With other collaborations like Fortnite’s Arcane content or Star Wars skins, players usually do not get any crossover outfits free of charge, so this was an awesome gesture on Blizzard’s part.
All of these things come together to make the One-Punch Man crossover feel like more than a simple shop update. Going forward, whether it crosses over with a superhero property like X-Men or a video game franchise like Borderlands, it seems like fans can expect big things. A special trailer incorporating music from the IP, a custom menu screen to remind fans of the event, and earnable rewards based on the franchise that is being partnered with could be the norm.
The only thing missing from the One-Punch Man event is a game mode built around Saitama’s ability to insta kill his foes, as Doomfist’s rocket punch surely could have been buffed to feel more like the character’s signature attack. It could have played similar to Overwatch 2’s Love of Geometry Hanzo mode, with several Doomfists doing battle in a deathmatch variant. Still, instead of focusing on what is missing, it makes sense to instead praise everything that is included in the event. If this format carries over to future collaborations, perhaps with a special brawl as well, Overwatch 2’s crossover content could be far more exciting than initially expected.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.