Blizzard Announces Overwatch 2's First IP Collaboration With One Punch Man Saitama Skin

Blizzard is not the only live-service staple that Overwatch 2 will implement. Overwatch will be joining the wonderful world IP collaborations on March 7.

Blizzard is not the only live-service staple that Overwatch 2 will have, a battle pass is just one example. Overwatch will be joining the wonderful world IP collaborations on March 7th with a collection inspired by One Punch Man.

Blizzard's Overwatch 2 Season 3 blog post states that the One Punch Man collaboration will include "a collection of cosmetics inspired by the beloved anime." The studio has revealed only one item so far: a Doomfist skin based on One Punch Man's protagonist Saitama. The blog post said that the studio would reveal additional items prior to the collaboration's release, March 7. One of these cosmetics is a Legendary skin that players can earn through a series themed challenges.

Although this isn’t the first time that an established character has entered Overwatch to be a skin for one its heroes - Orisa, Widowmaker and Torbjorn have all received skins based on other Blizzard properties - this collaboration marks the first time Blizzard had licensed characters from outside the company. Although this is a first for Blizzard, it's not surprising. Jon Spector, Overwatch's VP of Operations, revealed that the team was interested to explore Fortnite-style crossovers late last summer.

Spector stated that there have been many fun examples of games working with other brands and other games." I am a huge anime nerd. It's amazing to see Naruto in Fortnite. Although I don't play Fortnite, it's amazing. We are interested in exploring the Overwatch 2 space. We will do it in a way that feels right for the Overwatch franchise, if and when we do so.

Overwatch 2 will get a number new skins in its third season, in addition to the One Punch Man collection. Season 2 featured a variety of cosmetics based on Greek mythology, while Season 3 is centered on Asian mythology. These skins include the Amaterasu Kiriko Mythic Skin, which Blizzard says is inspired by various deities from Japanese mythology and allows for customizations that can be mixed and matched to suit the moon, sea, or storms.