Blizzard is planning Overwatch League-specific in-game items

Blizzard has been busy in the last few weeks finally shedding some light on the teams that will be competing in the upcoming inaugural season of the Overwatch League. The San Francisco team's roster was announced last week (featuring appearances by Shaq, J.Lo, and Marshawn Lynch), while this week two more teams were unveiled: the Shanghai Dragons and the Dallas Fuel.

Nestled in those last two announcements, I noticed Mei and Genji sporting some sweet team-branded jerseys—or in Overwatch parlance: skins. Was this an indication that Overwatch would be getting OWL-themed skins and cosmetics for players to show support for their favorite teams in game? It seems like a logical move, but I reached out to Blizzard to be sure.

"We were honored to collaborate with the Overwatch development team and Team Envy to announce the Dallas Fuel’s visual identity with a custom Genji skin for demonstration purposes," said an Overwatch League representative. "We look forward to sharing more information about Overwatch League-affiliated in-game items in the coming months."

So is that confirmation that Genji will be able to suit up just like the Dallas Fuel's boys in blue? Maybe not with that skin exactly, but it does confirm that OWL-specific items are planned in some form. Will there be team-branded skins? Quite possibly. I think we can expect something along the lines of what Valve has done with CS:GO, where players can emblazon team and player stickers on their weapon skins. Blizzard might go that route, letting players pick their favorite skin and then slap it with a Dragons or Fuel logo. Either way, I think it's a safe bet players will somehow be able to visually rep their favorite team.

Bo Moore

As the former head of PC Gamer's hardware coverage, Bo was in charge of helping readers better understand and use PC hardware. He also headed up the buying guides, picking the best peripherals and components to spend your hard-earned money on. He can usually be found playing Overwatch, Apex Legends, or more likely, with his cats. He is now IGN's resident tech editor and PC hardware expert.