Overwatch 2 VP Interested In Exploring Brand Collaborations, Cites Fortnite’s Naruto Crossover – Exclusive Interview

During our recent interview with Overwatch’s Vice President, Jon Spector, we asked the executive a few additional questions about developing sustainable revenue streams for free-to-play games. Titles like Fortnite and Warzone have popularized collaborations with major brands like Dragon Ball Super, Attack On Titan, and Snoop Dogg, so I was curious if the Overwatch team would consider it. 

Spector said, “We have seen some very fun examples of games that work with other brands.” I’m an anime fanatic myself. I think it’s super cool when I see Naruto appear in Fortnite. Even though I’m not a Fortnite player, it’s amazing. And as we look at the Overwatch 2 space, those are things that we’re interested in exploring. One of our core values, if and when that happens, is to create a game that fits the Overwatch brand. 

He says, “So we have been more focussed on those collaborations than the stuff that we might be interested doing.” Less on ads-in our-game stuff.

While Overwatch 2’s monetization model heavily relies on selling premium Battle Passes and high-quality cosmetics, Spector says the team is “working to deliver more content for free than ever before, on a regular and consistent basis to players all over the world.” 

In particular, the team plans to publish content updates once every nine week. Each season will deliver a new theme – Season 1 brings cyberpunk-inspired cosmetics – along with new characters or maps (sometimes both). 

“We desire to be able to sustain.” [content delivery]Spector says that this will continue for many years.” We ask ourselves “How can we make sure that the revenue system in the game aligns with this goal? Whatever the player chooses to spend on, we always strive to ensure that things within the game are fair and rewarding. [money].” 

He adds, “And it’s the most effective way to continue supporting the game.” That’s quite a shift from asking people to spend 40 or 60 dollars just to enter the game. Then, having multiple monetization models.

Click here to learn more about Overwatch’s Mythic Skins Premium and how the team spent over a year crafting each one.