Overwatch 2 comes back with another collaboration with K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM. Read on to learn more about the upcoming collab event and what players can expect during this time.
LE SSERAFIM Returns To Overwatch 2 With New Skins, Emotes, and In-Game Challenges
Overwatch 2 x LE SSERAFIM Coming This March 18, 2025
Overwatch 2 continues its collaboration with K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM! This upcoming collab will coincide with the release of LE SSERAFIM’s new album "Hot," and will come with brand-new skins, emotes, and in-game challenges. This comes over a year after their previous collab to celebrate LE SSERAFIM’s new song "Perfect Night" back in November 2023. In a Twitter (X) post on March 11, Overwatch 2 revealed a trailer, confirming the upcoming event. It was previously announced during Overwatch 2 Spotlight on February 12 that Blizzard would have a second collaboration with LE SSERAFIM.
The new skins that will be featured include skins for Mercy, Juno, D.Va, Ashe, and Illari. Recolored skins from the previous collab event in 2023 will be available for purchase, which include LE SSERAFIM versions of Kiriko, D.Va, Sombra, Tracer, and Brigitte.
However, the Concert Clash mode that was previously introduced in the first collab will not return this time around, as that mode was tied to LE SSERAFIM’s video for "Perfect Night." Additionally, players will have the chance to get the Legendary Fawksey James Junkrat skin by completing challenges during the duration of the event.
Overwatch Associate Director of Product Management Aimee Denett spoke with Polygon on March 11 regarding the upcoming collab event. Denett explained, "This time around, we wanted to be part of one of the pieces that’s celebrating their new album." She added, "While we don’t have a new song that’s specific to Overwatch, we had to celebrate K-pop culture, so we made a visualizer for one of the new songs off their album that we’re pretty excited about and a lot of extensive cosmetics for this collaboration."
The second collaboration for Overwatch 2 and LE SSERAFIM begins on March 18 until March 31, 2025. Before the event starts, there will be an Overwatch 2 x LE SSERAFIM Livestream Event on March 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM PST on Twitch and YouTube. The livestream will feature members from LE SSERAFIM and a closer look at the new skins. To stay up to date with the latest information about Overwatch 2, check out our article below!
Focusing on South Korean-style Streetwear for the Skins
The aesthetic of the skins this time would revolve around South Korea’s streetwear and overall style. According to Overwatch Art Director Dion Rogers, the cosmetics for this second collaboration were mostly created by Blizzard Korea Studio.
Artists from the studio went through LE SSERAFIM photo shoots, videos, and vlogs, focusing on Korean streetwear trends to properly bring out the authenticity of K-pop clothing choices when applied to Overwatch characters. Rogers stated, "We try to work pretty close with our team in Korea on these particular skins." He continued, "We did one of them here [in Irvine] as well, but because they’re close to this work, they have the best knowledge of how to translate what they see. […] We work closely with Le Sserafim as well, and the girls have their thoughts and ideas on what they like to see on the heroes. It’s a really fun collaborative process."
Rogers explained the process of how they choose which heroes to use for the collabs they do, which they applied to their previous crossovers such as Transformers, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Cowboy Bebop. He elaborated, "We imagine which hero on the team might actually listen to Le Sserafim or be into it. We imagine that they exist in a world of Overwatch. So Mercy, Juno, obviously D.Va is a huge fan of K-Pop, and Ashe. This is something that we think about with any skin that we create, but does the character want to be this or would they listen to these things?"
Breaking Rules for Special Collabs
The team handling special collabs for Overwatch 2 is willing to break rules in terms of making character silhouettes remain consistent with their original design. ComicBook had the chance to talk with Overwatch 2 developers on March 10 to break down how they came up with the new skins and what they learned from the first collab.
According to Rogers, the team tried to be more transformative with the designs they usually do with general collabs. He said, "There’s some heroes that are harder than others, especially when you want to put them in the casual wear. If Illari has to have her cape, that’s tough. It makes it difficult. Or you could see with Juno, her helmet’s not there. Is she stuck as a space ranger always? But we usually reserve this for not often, but just where we want to be a little bit more transformative so we can sell the fantasy of the skin as well as possible." Rogers also noted that the difficulty for doing such big collabs is keeping the identity of their heroes.
This marks the first time Overwatch 2 has returned to its previous partners to create an all-new collaboration, so this may potentially allow previous collabs such as Avatar: The Last Airbender or Transformers to return as well in the future. Denett clarified, "I would say that we ourselves are fans on the team and when there’s so much excitement both on the team and from our players, it’s hard to not do another round." However, she does not want to make any promises or get fans’ hopes up.
Source:
Overwatch 2 x LE SSERAFIM Collab Trailer
Overwatch 2 Developers Polygon Interview
Overwatch 2 Developers ComicBook Interview
