Overwatch 2 is teaming up with the world-famous One-Punch Man anime to bring a set of collectible cosmetics to the game, available for a limited time from March 7 to April 6! Overwatch 2 VP Aimee Dennet and Art Director Dion Rogers share their thoughts on the groundbreaking collaboration, which marks a first for Overwatch 2 and paves the way for other exciting potential IP crossovers for the game. play in the future. The team is excited to reveal the Genos – Genji skin from the collaboration for the first time here, today on the PlayStation Blog.
What led to the idea of bringing One-Punch Man into the Overwatch world?
[Aimee Dennett, Associate Director, Overwatch 2] We are obsessed with anime in the Overwatch team! Like our player base, we’re excited to think about the intersections and shared similarities between characters from our favorite shows. Doomfist and Saitama fit our minds very well, with their abilities. Both are bald. It’s no shame that our game director Aaron Keller is also a One-Punch Man fan.
Both Genos and Genji have tragic stories in common, you can discuss whether these shared experiences make for a perfect crossover, as well as any other inspirations that led to them. Genos-Genji character?
[Aimee] The similarities between Genos and Genji’s stories are certainly an inspiration. They are all human beings pushed to the brink of death, only to be saved by doctors from their universe and turned into cyborgs. We also like the fact that both Genji and Genos have strong relationships with their mentors. In fact, it was suggested that Zenyatta would play the excellent Saitama in this relationship (he’s also bald!) but Doomfist has always been the obvious choice for us.
What aspects of Genos’ aesthetics and abilities are most important to grasp in the Overwatch world?
[Dion Rogers, Art Director, Overwatch 2] Genos fits Genji perfectly. The two characters are basically cyborgs, and both have very serious and intense attitudes. We want to make sure that players realize that our characters are essentially cosplaying OPM heroes. Genos’ spiky blonde hair is a fun challenge, the more we match the style the more we lose Genji in the process. Our concept artists carefully combined the two heroes’ primary aesthetics without sacrificing either character in the process.
What was the idea behind creating a hybrid Genos-Genji crossover skin, instead of trying to create a purely Genos 1-1 skin?
[Aimee] Blizzard games feature highly detailed lore and universes, and Overwatch is no exception. From a classic perspective, Overwatch takes place on Earth. One-Punch Man is an anime that exists on Earth, so it won’t be broken if you see the existence of One-Punch Man in the game. For our first major collaboration, we wanted to be particularly thoughtful and subtle about this piece, and thought our approach to heroic “cosplay” characters would be a great fit. There’s also something interesting about the idea that the Genji canon is a fan of One-Punch Man, specifically seeing himself in Genos and going to cosplay as that character. That said, we’re exploring unofficial opportunities in the future, such as the Overwatch dating simulator we ran for Valentine’s Day.
Are there any specifics you want to make sure One-Punch Man fans notice about this crossover?
[Aimee] Correct! We’re sure One-Punch Man fans will find some Easter Eggs fun. I was especially excited to see the reaction to the game lobby during the event.
What are the most rewarding aspects of developing this intersection creatively?
[Aimee] It’s probably no surprise that there are so many geeks working on Overwatch 2, and we all have our own pop culture aspects that we’re passionate about. It’s incredibly rewarding to see One-Punch Man fans brainstorm about including their favorite anime in the work they do every day. It’s also very rewarding to see the reactions of players who also love One-Punch Man! It’s like a conversation we’re having with our players, about how we as a team share the same passion as them.
Can we expect more exciting Overwatch 2 x One-Punch Man crossovers in the future?
[Aimee] We shall see! This partnership is very exciting and we hope our players will enjoy it!
