After finishing their crossover Gundam Wing, Overwatch 2 surprised everyone with a Street Fighter 6 collaboration which is currently happening.
We recently had the chance to interview the artistic director of Overwatch Dion Rogers and the artistic director of Azuki and former artistic director of the character Arnold Tsang about collaboration, working with Capcom and if we could see more in Street Fighter 6 himself.
Since we saw several references to the genre in the past, we had to ask questions about the culture of combat game at Activision Blizzard, and there are apparently a lot of big fans / players in the studio.
We also had to question them on the possibility of seeing the Overwatch 2 content in Street Fighter 6, although their answer is probably what you expect.
You can consult the first part of our interview with the Overwatch developers who helped give life to Street Fighter 6 below.
Black horse: Do you play guys at Street Fighter 6? And if so, what characters do you use and what do you think of the game?
Dion Rogers: We play a ton of street fighter in the Overwatch team, especially when SF6 was released a few years ago. My principal is Chun-li. We all like Street Fighter in the team.
Arnold Tsang: It is difficult to choose a principal because I have been a big fan for many years. I learned to draw by imitating the work of Capcom artists.
Before joining the Overwatch team, I was one of the founders of Udon Comics and I was delighted to obtain the IP rights in Street Fighter. I helped illustrate the first SF comics before going to Game Art.
When we developed Overwatch for the first time, Street Fighter IV was super large and we were playing there during our lunch breaks at the office. We were even used to organizing tournaments.
Dion Rogers: Some of our developers, such as Alec Dawson, even went to Evo to participate in Street Fighter tournaments.
Black horse: Do you have a favorite skin of the whole?
Dion Rogers: Since I have been Chun-Li Main and I have been playing a lot of Juno lately, it’s certainly my favorite combination.
I was also satisfied with the way Winston and Blanka took place. It was not easy to put Winston in the overalls, but we found a way to make it work. In addition, we were able to show how buffs his arms, which Overwatch fans do not see normally. But I really like the way everyone turned out.
Arnold Tsang: I echo that. Although I do not work myself on the conceptions of the skin, the team has perfectly nailed each couple.
Although if I had to choose a favorite, it would be Kiriko and Juri. I had drawn the first concept of Kiriko before she became a hero at Overwatch, and the artist who did this skin put a lot of work in the creation of the code. It turned out so well. The outfit incorporates many emblematic elements of juri, such as its fluid pants, while remaining faithful to the capacities and the form of Kiriko.
Black horse: How was SF6 collaboration born and why now?
Dion Rogers: We like to work on collaborations that can excite the whole team. I forget exactly who holds our hand, we or capcom, but when the Overwatch team realized that we were working on Street Fighter, everyone was extremely excited. We have been in discussion, planning and implementation for about a year now. He just worked well that the 6 year old Street Fighter 1-2 Fighters Edition is fast approaching.
Arnold Tsang: The team began to make collaborations with other IPs after leaving Blizzard, and since they announced the first, I hoped that they would do Street Fighter. Working on the comics was actually part of my start of a career, then when Dion invited me to work on the project, I was excited.
Black horse: How was it to communicate and collaborate with Capcom on this project?
Dion Rogers: The work process with CAPCOM has been incredible. We always like to work with various intellectual property holders, whether for anime or otherwise collaborations, but there is something special to incorporate the visual language of another game in Overwatch. They were great partners, giving us suggestions and helping technical challenges. As game developers, they really speak the same language as us and have been extremely useful throughout the process.
Black horse: What is this collaboration to offer to Street Fighter fans?
Dion Rogers: Our team is full of Street Fighter fans, so we have devoted a lot of time and passion to make skins as authentic for the two universes as possible. We have also added tons of small heads to Street Fighter, not only through the skins but also emotes, victory animations, works of art and more.
In addition, by honoring the artistic influence and the inheritance of Street Fighter, we brought back Arnold to create a special key art work.
Arnold Tsang: The work was fun and rewarding to work. Given my history, drawing the comics of Street Fighter and conceiving a large part of the original Overwatch heroes, it was a bit of a dream come true for me. I have given a lot of attention to the details of the art, to imitate the power and personality of Street Fighter.
Black horse: How are these skins acquired in Overwatch 2? Can players simply get the individuals they want?
Dion Rogers: You will be able to choose and choose the skins you prefer. For example, if you are a main Zenyatta, you will not have to buy all the other skins just to get your Dhalsim skin.
Black horse: What are the chances that we see a reciprocal collaboration with the Overwatch content in Street Fighter 6?
Dion Rogers: We cannot talk about what Capcom does in Street Fighter 6, but we loved this partnership and hope to work together in the future again.
Black horse: We have already seen guys’ fighting references, so what is a combat game culture now there is Blizzard now?
Dion Rogers: There are a lot of Street Fighter fans in the team, so much so that we run a lot of matches during our lunch breaks. We tend to choose the collaborations that fascinate us as a team, and the enthusiasm for it was immediate.
One of the artists working on these skins began as an intern last summer, and she was so excited by the collaboration that she decided to stay in the team. She put a lot of work and proved her abilities, so we have to continue it to see this collaboration.
