More skins for Kiriko and Mercy.
There’s another NieR Automata collaboration, and this time, it’s with Blizzard’s popular shooter, Overwatch. Named Overwatch x Project YoRHa, the announcement was made on Overwatch 2’s official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday (4 March):
The announcement came a few days after Blizzard seemingly accidentally released a YouTube short about the collab last Saturday (28 February). Although the video was removed a few hours later, keen-eyed X users, like Overwatch Cavalry, were able to save a screenshot and shared it on the platform.
The official key art confirms that four Overwatch 2 heroes are set to receive skins as part of the collaboration. In the lineup, Lifeweaver appears styled after Adam, while A2 is shown carrying an oversized blade reminiscent of Vendetta’s weapon. 9S can be seen with a blue-tipped staff resembling Wuyang’s, and 2B is depicted with Kiriko’s kit. Mercy also features in the artwork, dressed in an outfit inspired by a YoRHa commander.
Overwatch x Project YoRHa launches on 10 March.
Fans want more skins for other Overwatch heroes
Reactions among the Overwatch player community were mixed, with plenty showing excitement for the collab, but many others disappointed about the choice of skins, and the heroes receiving them.
Content creator ARUUU were among those who voiced their opinion on the matter.
“Hey guys, it would be awesome if you gave skins to other characters instead of the same two every single time,” she said.
Another X user @tuputaenmicama, shared how Bastion could have been part of the collaboration, given NieR Automata was also about robots as much as it was about the Androids:
Many others, like X users @villainousSuper and @YorSparkHarl, complained about Kiriko and Mercy receiving more skins.
“Even though I'm a support player and I do like mercy and kiriko, I speak for everyone when I say that these ‘poster children’ do not need more skins,” @YorSparkHal said. “Please distribute skins to heroes that deserve them,” they added.
For context, Kiriko has over 30 skins (as of January 2026, according to Esports Insider), while Mercy reportedly has approximately 150 skins across Overwatch 1 and Overwatch 2. While there are many complaints many others are excited over the new skins, with some predicting that the Kiriko 2B skin will rake in some serious money.
This is the first officially announced NieR Automata collaboration since Square Enix and PlatinumGames released a celebratory video for NieR Automata selling more than 10 million copies in less than ten years. In the same video, they announced that there would be more “area of interest expansion via complex deployment,” which seems to suggest more collaborations.
The Overwatch x Project YoRHa collaboration will release on 10 March, 2026.
