Team-based shooter game Overwatch has launched several successful music crossover events over the past few years, including collaborations with J-pop duo YOASOBI and K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM.
These crossover moments usually feature playable character skins, unique in-game accessories, promotional videos and themed bundles – as well as exclusive new tracks to stream. However, fans have noticed the collabs often originate in East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea and have pushed studio bosses to expand their approach across other continents.
Walter Kong, Head Of Live Games at Blizzard, the studio that makes Overwatch, has listened to these requests and explained the company’s new strategy to NME at gaming convention BlizzCon this weekend.
“We have some folks that are helping plan future opportunities – and the ideas we’re exploring are pretty diverse,” he said during an exclusive interview. “Certainly, we don’t want to be so narrow in our musical collaborations. We want to think of exciting opportunities, across a broader spectrum.”
‘Overwatch X YOASOBI’. CREDIT: Blizzard
These potential partnerships could even include a UK or US rapper, Kong confirmed, but it’s important that Overwatch doesn’t go down a musical “collab path that other games have already done” – seemingly referring to fellow free-to-play live service shooters such as Fortnite, which launched spin-off Fortnite Festival in 2023 and frequently works with mainstream US artists (Laufey, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter) to make them playable in-game.
“When I thought about our approach to the original LE SSERAFIM [collab], I felt it shouldn’t be the band members directly,” said Kong, referring to the decision to create content inspired by each member’s aesthetic rather than simply porting their likenesses into Overwatch. “It should be something where we can capture the imagination of our players [and help them to] feel like they’re going to a concert, being super excited and getting dressed up for it.”
He added: “I felt that that was a more authentic expression compared to just taking the real-life individuals and then putting them into a game.”
When Overwatch x LE SSERAFIM debuted in 2023, it included a fresh format called Concert Clash. The limited-time 3v3 arcade mode tasked players with acquiring ‘concert tickets’ and depositing them into control zones. It proved popular with players, but Associate Game Director Alec Dawson told NME we shouldn’t expect it to return any time soon.
“We learned quite a bit from that event mode,” he said. “I think if we brought it back, we’d probably want to evolve it in a few ways but I love the idea of taking this scene of characters that are actually at a concert… that was a lot of fun to design and explore. Maybe there’s something in the future that’s a little bit different but captures the same vibes.”
J-pop legends and former NME cover stars @YOASOBI_staff just lit up the @ow_esports World Cup half-time show at #Blizzcon gaming convention in Anaheim, California 🔥
Check out ‘Idol’, their global megahit that opened the set in style 🎇 pic.twitter.com/jsK6QmeX3W
— NME (@NME) September 13, 2026
YOASOBI celebrated their recent Overwatch team-up by headlining the esport’s World Cup half-time show at BlizzCon earlier today (September 13).
Launching onto stage more than one hour late after a gripping semi-final between France and South Korea was extended into a tie-breaking fifth match, the Japanese duo and former NME cover stars zipped through a short set that included global megahit ‘Idol’ as well as their Overwatch-exclusive track ‘Orion’.
LE SSERAFIM are also set to play the returning annual convention, which last took place in 2023. They headline the closing ceremony on the main stage at Anaheim Convention Center, the largest of its kind on the US’ West Coast. Tune in here at 2am BST on September 14 to watch.
“It was extremely exciting for me to think about the possibility of having them both here and performing,“ said Kong. “LE SSERAFIM are friends with YOASOBI – so it was a really good opportunity to present this to the fans of our game and also to their fans.”
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