Fresh off their GI Joe collab from earlier this season, Overwatch 2 isn’t slowing down as they deliver another brand new batch of cosmetics for players. Just weeks removed from bringing players the likes of Genji as Snake Eyes and Doomfist as Destro, Overwatch 2 is rolling out another collab with an iconic Hasbro brand, Nerf. Unlike previous collabs that have been focused on character skins, the Overwatch 2 x Nerf collab is the game’s first weapon skins-focused collaboration, allowing players to transform some of their favorite hero’s weapons into the iconic toy blasters they know and love. That’s not the only change though as this collab will also come with a major free component, perhaps the one that most players will want anyway.
Comicbook had the opportunity to speak with members of the Overwatch 2 team to break down the new event ahead of its launch on Tuesday, August 5th. The Overwatch 2 x Nerf collab will not only give seven characters brand new weapon skins that transform them into the iconic blasters (with just one full character skin) but also a brand new game mode that will allow players to try out the weapon skins before they buy them.
“Most of our collaborations center around full character skins,” Aimee Dennett, Overwatch 2‘s Associate Director of Product Management, revealed. “And we are always trying to do different things, whether that’s collaborate with different types of partners. For this one, we wanted to try out what would a full weapon skin collaboration look like. Weapon skins are a relatively new cosmetic in the game, so when we were thinking about who’s a good fit for that, we thought that we would have a ton of fun with Nerf. As you can see, a lot of their blasters fit our Overwatch Hero’s weapons really well.”
Each hero that is getting a weapon skins in the Overwatch 2 x Nerf collab feels tailor made for them. Included are Soldier: 76 with the N Series Pinpoint blaster, Baptiste with the Loadout Commander (one of Nerf’s newest releases), Tracer with the Gelfire Pro, Mei with the iconic Super Soaker XP100, Hanzo with the Big Bad Bow, and Genji with two Nerf products, the Slingerang and the Power Blast Bat (don’t worry, that comes equipped for both of his swords).
“The biggest challenge with the design of these was always the scale and the length,” Dennett said. “There were early versions of this that had the bat being way too big and then other versions that are way too small. So similar to the Super Soaker too, we wanted to make sure it was very obviously a Super Soaker, that anyone who’s familiar with that would see it and know what it is, but we still needed it to be in the same silhouette as Mei’s weapon.”
Only one character will get a full skin during this collab, with Cassidy not only getting two Nerf products tailored to his kit (his pistol is swapped out for the Nerf Maverick, and his grenade transformed into the Vortex Football) but also a skin that feels plucked from the heyday of Nerf. The team had a few different characters in mind to make a full skin for the Nerf collab before ultimately landing on Cassidy. The hero’s new skin comes equipped not only with two Nerf products but updates his belt buckle to say “Nerf” and gives his robotic arm a Nerf-style upgrade too.
John Gotch, Overwatch 2‘s Associate Art Director, offered further insight into the Cassidy Nerf skin, noting: “One little key thing that was really important for Cassidy was at the end when (the team decided), let’s turn the hat backwards. Really gives that ’80s, ’90s vibe.”
The Nerf darts will also fully replace Cassidy’s ammunition with the new skin, not only for reloading but in the ammo belt that he wears. Those aren’t the only places players will be able to spot the darts too. Players may not immediately notice one big change for the Nerf Cassidy skin though, but it was one that convinced the team they’d made the right choice with which hero got a full cosmetic.
“Then we had a little trouble where he always has a cigar in his mouth,” Gotch said. “And they were like, ‘Oh, it fits really well, put the Nerf dart, it just fit perfectly to go with Cassidy.’”
Cassidy’s character and weapon skin aren’t the only thing players can grab during the collab though as he’ll also come bundled with a Nerf-themed highlight intro for your next Play of the Game, one that takes inspiration from some iconic Nerf commercials.
This new collab marks not only the first one fully focused on weapon skins, but it’s also the first where none of the tank heroes are included, which wasn’t an intentional choice. Dennett added, “Our first priority was making sure that the fit between the blasters and the Overwatch weapons worked well. And I guess it’s not surprising that they fit the best on our DPS, our damage players.”
The new limited time game modes that will launch with the Nerf collab. Naturally called “Nerf or Nothin’,” the mode will take inspiration from classic “Gun Games” that FPS players know well. In the free for all mode, players battle to be the first to 20 eliminations, running around as one of the seven characters from the collab with their brand new Nerf weapon skin front and center, changing characters every so often. This new mode is also where the free component of the collab comes into play. Players will have the chance to get a free weapon charm, player icon, and a spray, but they can also battle their way through “Nerf or Nothin” to claim the Tracer Gelfire Pro weapon skins totally for free.
“We saw the real Gelfire Pro and there’s not a lot of critical thinking that needs to be done to then make the leap to Tracer,” Dennett said with a laugh.
Besides the regular Mythic weapon skins that appear every new season in Overwatch 2, legendary weapon skins in the game have not been consistently released. To date there are just two: Hard Light, which debuted in December of 2023 for just three characters; and Los Muertos, which were released in March of 2024 for just two others. One reason that weapon skins stopped really entering the rotation was because of themes, something easier to create for the mythics.
“It’s also nice though, to make sure when we make the weapon skins or the mythic skins, making sure a nice theme fits all the different skins in the game,” Gotch said. “So it’s not just like a mix match of everything. So when it fits everything really well, that’s the best time to do it.”
Dennett further noted that because there’s only so many cosmetics that can be released in a season, it often just came down to whatever the strongest ideas were, meaning weapon skins tended to not win against other ideas. She added, “If there’s a really strong weapon skin idea, we will use it.” Luckily for players, the team has cultivated a good relationship with Hasbro (which now includes Transformers and G.I. Joe collabs under their belts) making the Nerf collab a perfect idea to deepen the roster of customization for player cosmetics.
In its last season Overwatch 2 released skins and cosmetics in the game that fit the Magical girl aesthetic (taking cues from the likes of Sailor Moon) while the current season has brought in the “Academy” theme for a variety of skins (part of a larger academia and school theme). Though hardly out of place in the grand scheme, these skins back-to-back have been met with criticism from some sects of the player base for not catering to other interests. The addition of Nerf right after these could be seen as continuing a trend that isn’t aimed at players who want “tough” or “cool” cosmetics. We asked Dennett about the roll out of specific cosmetics in the game and if criticism like this is taken into account by the team.
“There’s a lot less science that goes into this than what people might think,” Dennett revealed. “Sometimes we’ll think, ‘Oh man, there’s a huge group of folks on the team that love magical girls as a theme. And there’s so many great ideas and sketches and we know our players would love it.’ And so that happens. Then we have such a diverse team with diverse interests that the same thing happens with something like this, where Nerf’s not going to be like the most dangerous looking, edgy weapons. But we want to make sure that we’re always doing things that different types of players would like, especially for our collaborations.’
She continued, “We don’t want to be just doing one type of thing and keep serving the same players. We want to make sure that everyone gets to see a little bit of their fandom in it. My favorite thing is when we discover the folks on the team where their thing is Nerf. Like there was one guy on the team where we were asking for ideas and he just was rapid firing like 20 ideas. I can’t wait for the player version of that teammate to get their hands on these because it’s going to be the best day.”
That day, for that player, is tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5th.
The Overwatch 2 x Nerf collab kicks off then and runs in-game until August 18th.
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