Overwatch 2's Transformers collaboration is a dream come true for Blizzard Korea's lead concept artist: 'The coolest gift I could give my childhood self'

Overwatch 2 has been on a bit of a roll lately with its IP collaborations. After transforming some of the heroes into beloved characters from Cowboy Bebop and harnessing the dread power of K-Pop, the next item on the agenda is a Transformers crossover that'll see a few Overwatch heroes take the shape of iconic Autobots and one fearsome Decepticon. 

Unfortunately, for Transformers fans, there will only be a few heroes included in this collaboration. Tank heroes Reinhardt and Ramattra will have Optimus Prime's and Megatron's designs, respectively, while DPS hero Bastion will become Bumblebee and support hero Illari will be Arcee. You can see the designs in a recent trailer, although it does look like a bit of an unfair fight, as it's three-on-one with Reinhardt, Illari, and Bastion going up against Ramattra. 

Other than giving players even more creative skins to enjoy, this collab also seems to be something that the devs have been looking forward to for a very long time. Blizzard Korea Studio's Bobby Kim discussed what it was like to bring the worlds together and why it's such a big deal for him personally. 

"Transformers is one of the best action robot franchises out there, and it gets people's hearts racing, so I knew this was a project I wanted to take on," Kim says in a press release. "I remember watching the Transformers series on TV with my eyes wide open as a kid. To my eyes, every car on the road looked like it could convert at any time, and I still sometimes daydream about it all these years later. While I didn't have the chance to own one of the toys back then, being part of this collaboration feels like the coolest gift I could give my childhood self." 

Kim goes on to describe what it was like to create Reinhardt's Optimus Prime skin specifically and stresses that he tried to make the skin as authentic as possible to the Transformers look fans know. There are even working windshield wipers on "the front windshield and the exhaust on the skin's shoulders, to make him look more like a speeding truck when he charges," Kim says. 

But Kim isn't the only developer to enjoy their time working with this upcoming collaboration. "I got to work on Bumblebee Bastion, and I gotta say it was one of the most mechanically complex skins I've worked on," Ana Martínez, a character tech artist on Overwatch 2, says in a tweet. "So many notes and revisions, but I'm so hyped with how it came out!"

While my personal favourite has to be Reinhardt's skin Bastion's Bumblebee redesign is brilliant. I especially love how he actually turns into a car while in his recon mode. Although the pace at which we see him race around in the trailer won't be able to match up to the slow and steady style that he's restricted to in actual matches.

All of the skins launch today, and they'll remain accessible via the shop until July 22, 2024, so you have a bit of time to debate whether this is something worth spending your money on.