Legends tell of a videogame. A cursed videogame. One which, once it crosses paths with another, puts a year-long ticking timebomb on its victim. And the worst part? They never saw it coming.
Sorry, it's Persona 5, I get at least one Last Surprise joke. There've been a pretty wild number of collaborations announced across Gamescom week—and they all just happen to be for games I'm interested in, which is perhaps why I'm noticing it more than usual—from Infinity Nikki and Stardew Valley to Nikke: Goddess of Victory and Resident Evil.
This time it's Overwatch 2's turn to Fortnite itself a little bit, and it's enlisting the Phantom Thieves to do so. Yup, the ultra-milked Atlus RPG is getting together with Blizzard's shooter in what is somehow the weirdest crossover announcement of the week so far.
So why am I yapping about the kiss of death and curses? Well, Persona 5 has garnered quite a reputation (particularly in the gacha game scene) for being a bit of a death knell whenever it announces a collaboration. Let's take a gander:
- Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag – End of service one year later
- Star Ocean: Anamnesis – End of service 18 months later
- Nier Reincarnation – End of service 18 months later
- Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile – End of service 18 months later
- Draglia Lost – End of service two years later
- Final Fantasy Brave Exvius – End of service three years later
Have games survived the Persona 5 collaboration calling card? Of course they have. Rhythm game Bang Dream! Girls Band Party is still going strong over six years later, and Granblue Fantasy shows no signs of shutting down two-and-a-half years after its Persona 5 event. There's always time, though.
When it comes to Overwatch 2, I don't really think it's going to shutter in a year from now, but all I'm saying is Blizzard has the opportunity to do the funniest thing in August 2026.
It's not super clear what the crossover entails just yet. If it's anything like previous Overwatch 2 collabs it'll likely be a handful of skins, though. We already know Joker's one of them—with the trailer teasing his all-out attack silhouette—and fans are already speculating that Cassidy will most likely be the hero to don the black trench coat.
As for the rest of the Phantom Thieves, we'll just have to wait and see. I'd be surprised if we don't at least see Ann and Ryuji, and maybe a Morgana or Makoto if we're lucky. I think it'd be kind of cool for Cassidy to actually get Yusuke as a skin, considering the two are voiced by Matt Mercer. A fun little meta crossover moment.
