K-pop idols are notorious for being some of the busiest artists in the music industry with many of the biggest groups expanding their global reach through strategic partnerships. Lately, it seems many of these fall under the esports umbrella, what with popular groups such as Blackpink and New Jeans working with titles like PUBG Mobile and League of Legends, respectively.
This year, the girl group Le Sserafim once again proved the value of these esports collaborations via another one with multiplayer first-person shooter Overwatch 2. In 2023, the five-member musical act became the Overwatch franchise’s very first in-game music collaboration. Given that this initial collaboration came right around the time that the game was adopting a free-to-play model and the original Overwatch League ended, working with Le Sserafim helped the game improve its recall and relevance among new audiences.
While their 2025 work together is not quite as expansive, it nevertheless became another highly anticipated crossover between K-pop and esports.
Overwatch: an esports industry leader
Across the massive video game industry, the Overwatch franchise has steadily been one of the most successful since its initial 2016 release. Developed by Blizzard, the multiplayer title’s immersive and collaborative gameplay and lore have largely helped it perform well in competitive gaming circles. Today, Overwatch competitive gaming is among the most prestigious, with annual tournaments and international teams participating. This year alone, there will be Champions Clashes and the Champions Series, held in gaming hotspots such as China and South Korea. Such is the attention that Overwatch drums up in esports that last year’s events had a peak viewership of more than 125,000. As of now, Overwatch games are also shared on streaming sites like Twitch to meet widespread demand.
Considering this significant level of fan support, Overwatch betting has also become a huge part of the game’s broader esports ecosystem. Currently, fans choose to immerse themselves in the video game’s fast-paced and high-level esports presence by waging bets on markets such as correct score, live betting, match winner, map winner, and more. Furthermore, on the crypto betting platform Thunderpick, Overwatch is among the esports titles that users can engage with using tokens such as Bitcoin, Tether, and Ethereum. Given the level of participation that Overwatch pulls in, there are even game-specific betting bonuses, like cashback and insure bonuses. Overall, this has helped maintain Overwatch’s momentum by securing worldwide engagement, which is why it’s no surprise that the franchise has made sure to bolster this growth with high-profile collaborations in the K-pop industry.
Le Sserafim and Overwatch 2 newest partnership
As mentioned above, while Overwatch is already renowned within esports circles, it’s through meaningful collaborations that its more mainstream appeal is secured. With regards to working with Le Sserafim, such collaboration can increase their importance and credibility among the girl group’s fandom. As a group under Source Music, which falls under parent multinational entertainment company Hybe, Le Sserafim is one of the hottest K-pop groups today.
Sometimes dubbed as leaders in the 4th gen, the group has received much acclaim since their debut in 2022. As of writing, they’ve already garnered awards from inside Korea and abroad, including from the Asian Pop Music Awards and MTV.
For this second collaboration, Le Sserafim and Overwatch collaborated for a limited run from February to the end of March 2025. Unlike the last collaboration, which included gameplay-related elements, this new one focuses more on cosmetics. Players could choose to purchase five special “Fearless” skins, along with revamped “Blue Flame” versions of skins from the previous 2023 partnership. Sold for 6,900 Overwatch Coins, the bundles also came with emotes, victory poses, name cards, player icons, and sprays. Other bundles were also offered for slightly fewer or more Overwatch Coins, with the primary difference being how comprehensive the cosmetics were. To further entice players to acquire the bundles, the Overwatch team also ran special event challenges. Those who completed these were privy to exclusive rewards, like the Fawksey James skin for Junkrat.
According to press releases from the group’s management, this collaboration was more detailed than the last one and designed to reflect more of Le Sserafim’s identity. Namely, the skins were created with Korean street style in mind, while the emotes and choreography were inspired by the group’s own dances. There are even Easter eggs, including one of a stuffed toy designed by member Sakura.
Can fans expect another collab in the future?
While there are no other concrete announcements to date, it’s believed that the bundles and skins will return to Overwatch 2 later this year. Additionally, there is a chance that Le Sserafim will collab with the game for a third time in 2026. Next year marks Blizzard’s 21st anniversary and will allegedly see a return of BlizzCon. This may include a performance from the girl group, as they had already done so in 2023 with their Overwatch single Perfect Night.
Lately, it’s become a trend for esports companies to onboard K-pop groups as performers, even without a formal collaboration. For instance, this was the case for girl group Aespa. A four-member group from SM Entertainment, Aespa has been making waves following their recently concluded world tour. During the Wild Rift SEA Championship in 2021, the group provided a much-raved opening number, although they were actually named as collaborators with any game developer or team. Of course, should Le Sserafim actually sign up for another collaboration and performance come 2026, it would likely include yet another special single that their fans and Overwatch’s would be happy to enjoy.
