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After Overwatch, which went free-to-play over the holidays, were quick to point out that the character resembled well-known Overwatch character D.Va in her Legendary Christmas skin, available during Overwatch's Winter Wonderland 2021.
The rumor quickly spread online and was widely met with disdain from Genshin Impact fans. Recently, Genshin Impact did a crossover with Horizon: Zero Dawn, adding Aloy as a playable character. The crossover was not well received, with fans criticizing Aloy being listed as a 5-star character despite not being very powerful. Aloy pales in comparison to Genshin Impact’s other 5 star Cryo bow , Ganyu, and arguably is weaker than 4-star Cryo bow Diona. The poor reception of the addition of Horizon: Zero Dawn's Aloy in Genshin Impact is a cautionary tale for miHoYo that future crossovers might not be well received either.
Many Genshin Impact fans were not impressed with the news and were quick to point out that Overwatch’s developer, Blizzard, is currently embroiled in a lawsuit regarding claims of sexual harassment and misconduct at the company. The investigation into company-wide sexism, harassment, and discrimination is ongoing, as well as Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s knowledge of abuse that occurred within the company. As a result, many gamers have boycotted Activision Blizzard games and an Overwatch collaboration would likely be received unfavorably by Genshin Impact fans if a crossover were to take place.
Will A Genshin Impact & Overwatch Crossover Happen?
Other than the Christmas artwork, there has been no other evidence thus far to suggest an Overwatch and Genshin Impact crossover is in the works. Even the fact that both games shared Christmas artwork likely boils down to simple coincidence since many game companies share similarly themed art around the holidays. Others speculated that the blonde character featured in the artwork was Genshin Impact character Barbara or Jean, but this was refuted by Genshin Impact fans as the resemblance to either of these characters is minimal.
Considering the ongoing investigation into Activision Blizzard, and the widespread boycotts of the company’s games, it seems unlikely that miHoYo would want to take the risk of associating itself with Overwatch’s developer. However, the Horizon: Zero Dawn collaboration demonstrates that a crossover between Genshin Impact and another video game isn’t out of the question, despite Aloy’s addition to Genshin Impact being widely criticized. No stranger to changing plans following backlash from fans, Genshin Impact previously deleted a tweet, about a contest crossover with Elon Musk, following fan outcry. The claims suggesting a Genshin Impact and Overwatch crossover is happening are largely unsubstantiated, but only time will tell if a collaboration between these two hugely successful video games will become a reality.
