Overwatch Team Designs Halo-Inspired Skin To Celebrate Blizzard Buyout

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To celebrate Microsoft’s recent purchase of Activision Blizzard, an Overwatch esports team has designed a Soldier: 76 skin inspired by Halo. Blizzard Entertainment’s beloved team-based hero shooter has a thriving esports community, with the Overwatch League featuring 20 different teams of professional players. Microsoft recently purchased Activision Blizzard, giving the Xbox creator ownership of massive franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Overwatch.

First kicking off in 2018, the Overwatch League is directly organized and produced by developer Blizzard Entertainment. The esports competition features permanent city-based teams, situated around the world, which are organized into Atlantic and Pacific conferences. The Overwatch League sees Overwatch fans performing at the highest level, with team structure and mastery of hero abilities making the difference between victory and defeat. While Overwatch itself has not been updated in some time, the 2022 OWL season is set to take advantage of upcoming sequel Overwatch 2. Back in September 2021 it was announced that an early build of Overwatch 2 will be used in the league’s 2022 season, giving gamers an early look at the first-person shooter successor.

To celebrate Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, Overwatch League team Washington Justice has created a custom Halo-inspired skin. The outfit gives Soldier: 76, one of the hero shooter’s original characters, a fresh set of futuristic sci-fi armor. The look is inspired by Halo’s Mjolnir armor, powered assault armor worn by the franchise’s Spartan supersoldiers. The skin maintains Soldier: 76’s red and blue color scheme, creating an awesome crossover between two powerful sci-fi soldiers.

Overwatch’s world and cast have become incredibly iconic, serving as a perfect blend between hard science fiction and cartoonish optimism. While the title has not experienced any meaningful collaborations, rumors of an Overwatch and Genshin Impact crossover event could see Blizzard’s first-person shooter merge with miHoYo’s action role-playing game. The rumors stem from a recent piece of Overwatch art, which features an unknown character that seems to borrow from Genshin Impact’s distinct aesthetic.

While an official crossover seems unlikely, Washington Justice has successfully combined the distinct aesthetics of Overwatch and Halo. As a masked sci-fi supersoldier, Soldier: 76 is the hero shooter’s closest analog to the iconic Master Chief and his armor. Building upon this similarity to celebrate Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, Washington Justice has improved the ruthless soldier’s armor and weaponry.

Overwatch is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Source: Washington Justice/Twitter

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