After an accidental early post on YouTube last week, Overwatch has now confirmed its newest collaboration coming soon is with NieR: Automata, and fans are in a frenzy for a few reasons.
NieR: Automata is a beloved game by all accounts (one of my sins is that I haven’t played it yet myself), sporting an 88 overall score on Metacritic, and the love for its characters specifically is paramount among the fandom. None are more iconic than 2B, the main character, and so she of course is represented in this collab.
Overwatch fans likely already know where I’m going next with this, but pretend to be shocked: 2B is coming to Overwatch as a skin for none other than… Kiriko. Yep, Blizzard’s Japanese darling is getting yet another awesome costume, to no one’s surprise, but to many’s chagrin.
The reaction to last night’s confirmation that Kiriko is 2B is standard fare for any time she gets another new skin these days. And I can see where players are coming from in their annoyance. Kiriko has a stunning amount of Legendary skins, and is frequently included in collaborations.
Kiriko has already gotten Legendary collab skins in the past with Terrible Tornado from One Punch Man, Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia, Blue Flame and Antifragile Kira-Kira from LE SSERAFIM, and most recently, Cinnamoroll from Hello Kitty & Friends. And that doesn’t even include a few dozen other original design Legendaries.
And you know what? It makes total sense. Kiriko is a popular hero to play, and games like Overwatch are going to give the best skins to the most popular characters, especially when they are attractive female heroes. Marvel Rivals does the same thing with Luna Snow and Psylocke. It just makes sense from a business standpoint, even if people are getting tired of her always getting cool outfits in lieu of many other heroes.
In addition to 2B Kiriko, by inspecting the concept art image, we can see that the full collab is (from left to right):
- Lifeweaver as Adam
- Vendetta as A2
- Wuyang as 9S
- Kiriko as 2B
- Mercy as Commander White
I will say, though, it’s a bit odd that a game about sexy androids does not have any collaborative skins with Overwatch’s characters that are also actual androids. But, I digress, because these skins will likely sell a ton regardless.
The Overwatch x Project YoRHa collab will come to the game next week. Will you be picking any up?
