Why is the Overwatch 2 x Street Fighter collab causing controversy?

A collaboration between Capcom’s fighting game behemoth Street Fighter and Blizzard’s hero-based FPS Overwatch 2 has been anticipated by fans for a while, and the wait is almost over. A trailer for the collaboration recently dropped, confirming that there will be eight new Street Fighter character skins coming to Overwatch 2.

The concept of an Overwatch and Street Fighter undoubtedly stirred excitement. However, since the skins and the heroes getting them were revealed, the collaboration has come under some scrutiny from the Overwatch community. Let’s dive deeper into the collaboration to see what has caused the controversy. 

The Overwatch 2 x Street Fighter collaboration is the latest in a string of crossovers that Blizzard has incorporated into Overwatch 2. 

The crossover will include eight brand-new Street Fighter-themed skins for certain characters. Although no other items have been confirmed as part of the collab, there will likely be other cosmetics included, as is usually the case. Items such as sprays, name cards, and weapon charms, to name a few, are often included in Overwatch 2 crossovers, so expect to see them make an appearance here. 

The Street Fighter skins and Overwatch 2 characters that are getting them have been confirmed as follows via an animated trailer: 

The collab was announced at the fighting game convention Evo Japan 2025 and shared on social media via a post on X. The trailer was then posted to PlayOverwatch’s official YouTube channel. 

It isn’t clear yet if there will be any new game modes involved in the crossover, though a Street Fighter-style brawl mode does seem possible. At the time of writing, no other information has been revealed other than the aforementioned skins and the characters confirmed to be receiving them. The collab dropped on May 20. 

Players have been taking issue with some of the choices of Overwatch 2 characters who will be receiving the Street Fighter skins. Certain choices have been praised, such as Sigma as M. Bison, Zenyatta as Dhalsim, and Winston as Blanka. These are heroes who have not had as much love as other characters when it comes to new, unique skins in Overwatch 2, so seeing them get well-deserved attention is refreshing. Their associated characters are also well chosen. However, the controversy over the collaboration comes from some of the other choices of Overwatch 2 heroes. 

Juno and Kiriko are two notable Overwatch 2 heroes who seem to be getting all the best skins at the moment. Kirko has been particularly prominent since she was introduced as a hero when Overwatch 2 began. She always seems to be part of some of the best collaborations, and Juno is quickly following suit, despite being released less than a year ago at the time of writing. 

Juno as Chun Li is a particular topic of contention, as many think that Mei would have been the perfect option. Juno is Vietnamese (and technically a Martian as she was born on Mars), but Mei is Chinese, as Chun Li is. This isn’t a big deal per se, as countries of origin and ethnicity shouldn’t be important factors when it comes to delegating skins. However, Mei is undeniably a popular choice for a unique Legendary skin, and Chun Li would have been a great option for her. 

Kiriko has been part of almost every crossover since Overwatch 2 launched. Not only that, but she has also received some of the better original skins in the game. Blizzard seems to be pushing her as the face of the game, much like they did with Tracer in the first Overwatch. However, this has led to fans reacting negatively to the blatant favouritism. 

Players have also had a strong reaction to Doomfist being left out of the roster. Doomfist’s character and hero kit were directly inspired by Street Fighter, with a focus on melee attacks and up-close and personal combat. To leave him out of the crossover altogether seems like a bizarre choice on Blizzard’s part. 

Players have been posting their thoughts on the Overwatch 2 hero choices for the Street Fighter skins online, and the response has been pretty mixed. As mentioned, the inclusion of Winston, Sigma, and Zenyatta is appreciated by many, but Kiriko and Juno once again becoming part of a big-name collab, while other heroes are left behind, has not been well received. 

Comments under the trailer on the PlayOverwatch YouTube channel display this mixed community reaction. Some of the most liked comments clearly show an appreciation for some of the skins. @garyniusaernasea6698 received 2.8 thousand likes for the comment “Sigma as M Bison is PERFECTION!”, while @VladDelU got close to four thousand likes for saying “Glad that Winston, Sigma, and Zen got some love, especially Winston.”

The negative feelings surrounding other character choices are also apparent. At the time of writing, the top comment on the trailer, with 11 thousand likes, comes from @smashkid9196. It reads: “No Doomfist skin when his entire moveset was based on Street Fighter is crazy.” The next most liked comment is a biting satire on the inclusion of Juno and Kiriko. It has 10 thousand likes and comes from @-hexabyte-, who states: “Thank God they didn’t forget Juno and Kiriko, I was so worried”.

Heading over to the community reaction on X, and things are pretty much the same. A post from @FUTCHZ1LLA reiterates the disbelief fans have had with Blizzard’s decision not to include Doomfist:  “Doomfist’s moveset was based on Street Fighter moves yet he didn’t get a single skin in the new Overwatch collab.” This post received an impressive 30K likes, 1.4K reposts, and over 950K views, so it’s clear that the community is collectively scratching their heads at this choice. 

Juno’s inclusion is also being brought into question, seeing as Blizzard seems to be bringing her to the fore of every collab alongside Kiriko. X user @love4elodie commented on this with a post that got just over 5K likes, saying: “ No shade but did Juno really need this after getting a mythic, stadium exclusive skin and just having a collab skin last season.”

As mentioned, the option of Juno as Chun Li instead of Mei is also causing a discussion on X. A post regarding the manner from X user @bunnimoniOW received around 11K likes, over 600 reposts, and over 515K views. It reads: “Mei was absolutely robbed wtf do you mean they didn’t give the Chinese character to the Chinese character.” Some argued this point, saying that Juno does indeed have Chinese heritage, which is a fair point (although her Chinese heritage is more unclear than her Vietnamese and Martian roots). 

The debate surrounding the choice of Overwatch 2 heroes for the Street Fighter collaboration has caused a mixed reaction to the crossover among the community. 

While it is encouraging to see marginalised heroes like Sigma and Winston receive skins that fit well with their specifically chosen characters, overused characters like Kiriko and Juno receiving skins that could have worked better for other heroes has caused some backlash. 

Although the prices have not been confirmed at the time of writing, here’s hoping that purchasing a Street Fighter skin in Overwatch 2 won’t break the bank as much as some of the previous crossovers have.