Activision Blizzard has once again found itself in hot water over a rather bizarre marketing post. This time, the controversy centers on the Yatagarasu Kiriko Overwatch 2 Halloween skin revealed in Season 13: Spellbinder. Unsurprisingly, the community’s focus isn’t on the character’s abilities or lore. Instead, it’s all about Kiriko’s feet. Yes, feet.
In a promotional post on X, the Overwatch 2 account shared a clip of the Yatagarasu Kiriko skin. It’s nothing unusual until it zooms in on her feet, followed by a caption saying, “Yatagarasu Kiriko has GRIPPERS???” Along with “drop a [feet emoji] if you’re hyped for Kiriko’s new skin,” this post left many players baffled and, frankly, creeped out.
Reactions from various X accounts and Reddit posts ranged from sarcastic humor to sheer discomfort. @Caraid07 wrote, “These mfs aren’t even hiding it anymore.” “Oh man, you’re desperate desperate,” added @wyerframeZ. @D3NNI_yt just wishes the Overwatch team to stop posting embarrassing tweets again, “oh brother fire the entire marketing team.”
@WarnTV and PC component NZXT’s official account were baffled asking if the post was really made on a main account. “Bro are you on main???”
Jokingly, at least we think, there are fans of Yatagarasu Kiriko Overwatch 2 Halloween skin that approved of this move.
r/CharacterLong5413 said, “Thinly veiled kink posts are my favorite.” @supertf asks for more suggestive update, “When is the armpit emote coming out? Heard rumblings of a move like that soon.” Meanwhile, the post nudged VTuber @chibidokii to play the game again, “no wonder ive been feeling the need to play overwatch again.”
This isn’t the first time Blizzard has been called out for objectifying its characters or playing into weird fan trends. The community is no stranger to foot-focused memes, dating back to Sigma’s barefoot reveal. While these attempts may be intended to connect with the playerbase through humor, they often come off as cringe-worthy, especially from a corporate account.
On the other side of the pond, though, fans are disappointed with Season 13: Spellbinder for the right reason. The Yatagarasu Kiriko Overwatch 2 Halloween skin is locked behind the $40 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle. As skins are no longer purchasable individually with Coins, players who’re interested in Kiriko’s ‘grippers’ will have to shell out a not-so-small fortune.
Despite the odd foot-focus and upsetting bundle, Overwatch 2’s Season 13 still offers exciting new content. Including — but not limited to — map updates, hero changes, and a Junkenstein event, alongside a lineup of visually impressive skins. Maybe, just maybe, Activision Blizzard should let those updates do the talking instead.
