Overwatch 2 is teaming up with the world famous anime One-Punch Man to bring a set of collectible cosmetics to the game, available for a limited time from March 7th to April 6th! Overwatch 2 Associate Director Aimee Dennet and Art Director Dion Rogers share their thoughts ahead of this groundbreaking collaboration, which marks a first for Overwatch 2 and paves the way for other exciting potential IP crossovers for the game in the future. The team is delighted to reveal the Genos – Genji skin from the collaboration here, for the first time, today on the iGamesNews.
What led to the idea of bringing One-Punch Man specifically into the world of Overwatch?
[Aimee Dennett, Associate Director, Overwatch 2] We’re obsessed with anime on the Overwatch team! Much like our playerbase, we have fun thinking about the crossovers and shared similarities between characters from our favorite shows. Doomfist and Saitama fit our minds very naturally, given their abilities. They are also both bald. It doesn’t hurt that our Game Director Aaron Keller is also a huge One-Punch Man fan.
Both Genos and Genji have tragic histories in common, can you discuss if those shared experiences made for a perfect crossover, as well as any other inspirations that led to the character Genos-Genji?
[Aimee] The similarities between the stories of Genos and Genji were certainly inspirational. They are both humans who were pushed to the brink of death, only to be rescued and turned into cyborgs by doctors from their respective universes. We also liked that Genji and Genos have a strong relationship with their mentors. Actually, there was an idea that Zenyatta would make a great Saitama given that relationship (he’s also bald!) but Doomfist was always the obvious choice for us.
What aspects of Genos’ aesthetics and abilities were most important to capture in the world of Overwatch?
[Dion Rogers, Art Director, Overwatch 2] Genos suited Genji just fine. Both characters are essentially cyborgs, and both have very serious and intense attitudes. We wanted to make sure players recognized that our characters were basically cosplaying OPM heroes. Genos’ spiky blonde hair was an interesting challenge, the more we matched the style, the more we lost Genji in the process. Our concept artists took care to combine the main aesthetic of both heroes without losing any of the characters in the process.
What was the idea behind creating a Genos-Genji hybrid skin, rather than trying to create a fully 1-to-1 Genos skin?
[Aimee] Blizzard games have very detailed lore and universes, and Overwatch is no exception. Canonically, Overwatch takes place on Earth. One-Punch Man is an anime that exists on Earth, so it’s not an immersion break if you see the existence of One-Punch Man in the game. For our first major collaboration, we wanted to be particularly thoughtful and touchy about this piece, and thought our heroes’ “cosplaying” approach to the characters would be a perfect fit. There’s also something fun about the idea of the Genji cannon being a fan of One-Punch Man, seeing himself specifically in Genos, and cosplaying as that character. That said, we’re exploring non-canon opportunities in the future, like the Overwatch dating simulator we launched for Valentine’s Day.
Are there any specific details you want to make sure One-Punch Man fans notice about this crossover?
[Aimee] Yes! We’re sure One-Punch Man fans will find some fun Easter eggs. I’m especially excited to see the reaction of the game lobby during the event.
What were the most rewarding aspects of the creative development of this crossover?
[Aimee] It’s probably no surprise that there are a lot of geeks working on Overwatch 2, and we all have our own personal slices of pop culture that we’re excited about. It was extremely gratifying to see people who have always loved One-Punch Man considering the possibility of incorporating their favorite anime into what they work on every day. It’s also very gratifying to see the reactions of players who also love One-Punch Man! It feels like a conversation we have with our players, about how we, as a team, share the same passions as them.
Can we expect more exciting Overwatch 2 x One-Punch Man crossovers in the future?
[Aimee] We will see! This collaboration has been a lot of fun to work on and we hope our players enjoy it!
