Jeff Kaplan talks Overwatch & Smash Bros crossover characters

When Overwatch was announced for the Nintendo Switch, fans’ minds had immediately gone to character crossover possibilities. 

In an interview with Game Informer, Overwatch’s lead designer Jeff Kaplan answered a lot of questions revolving around those possibilities. Gmae Informer’s Andrew Reiner decided to ask Kaplan which Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character Kaplan would want to see in Overwatch 2. 

“Nothing would make me happier than putting Link into our game,” he said. 

This is an answer that many Overwatch fans seem to already be in agreement with. Earlier this year, one Overwatch player decided to take the crossover into their own hands. The video featured Link receiving a “play of the game” award in Overwatch, showing off his abilities along the way. 

It appears that they imagined the Hero of Hyrule to be a tanky DPS or a light tank similar to Brigitte. Link would block damage using his shield and have the ability to charge forward at a rapid pace with his Master Sword stretched in front of him. Link also has bombs, boomerangs, and arrows as other possible damage options, which could transform him into a long-range DPS like Hanzo or Ashe. 

Could Link come to Overwatch as a new hero?

Link was a playable character in Soul Calibur 2 for the GameCube, showing off his versatility as a crossover character. It’s not too far fetched to imagine him in Overwatch’s world. But since the game is so heavy on lore, it’s unclear how this would fit into the storyline. 

Game Informer also asked Kaplan which Overwatch hero he’d want to see used as Smash Ultimate DLC. Kaplan answered Tracer without hesitation. This is actually a question he’s been asked in the past, and his answer hasn’t changed.

“Tracer’s our girl, Tracer’s our mascot. She’d be my first choice. There’s a lot of great runners up. I think a lot of people can immediately see Doomfist gameplay applying to Smash, but if it were up to me, I’d like to see Tracer,” Kaplan told IGN in October. 

While it’s clear that the crossover with Smash is something Kaplan is open to, he noted that having one of their heroes in Smash is not something that’s up to the Overwatch team.

“To the Smash Bros team, whatever character you want, we love them all. They’re all our babies, you can have any single one of them. We have 31 to choose from,” Kaplan said, seemingly giving Nintendo the green light to collaborate. 

A Nintendo Direct in September announced that there would be even more DLC fighters beyond the five included in the original Smash Bros Fighter Pass. This opens up even more possibilities for a potential Overwatch fighter to join the tourney. But Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai has never publicly discussed the idea of an Overwatch DLC fighter.