Overwatch’s winter event launched yesterday, kicking off a holiday celebration that will continue through the new year, ending after January 2, 2019. Plenty of new holiday-themed goodies are available for players to add to their collections, including new character skins. Coincidentally (or not, depending on your perspective), one of the new skins just so happened to have been predicted by an Overwatch fan one year ago.
Junkrat - the hot-headed Australian explosives enthusiast - is featured in the winter update donning horns and portraying the half-goat, half-demon figure known as Krampus. As it turns out, Chile-based artist, P-Cate, drew Junkrat as the demonic folklore legend in a comic that she posted in December of last year.
P-Cate posted a three-panel comic on December 7th, 2017, which features fellow Overwatch character, Mei, dressed up in holiday garb in a celebration of the season. Much to her chagrin, Junkrat appears dressed as Krampus, promptly taking Mei out of her festive mood and telling him to leave.
For those unfamiliar with the legend of Krampus, he originates from Central European folklore and essentially acts as the anti-Santa Claus, punishing children who have misbehaved throughout the year. Based on its hellish appearance, it makes perfect sense that Junkrat was the character of choice to portray the holiday demon.
Beyond Junkrat’s “Krampus” design, players can expect to once again revel in Overwatch’s winter event with other rewards, such as winter-themed emotes, highlight intros, player icons, sprays, and voice lines, not to mention additional character skins, including Sugar Plum Fairy Mercy, Scrooge McCree, and Figure Skater Symmetra. The game modes of “Yeti Hunter” and “Mei’s Snowball Offensive” return, as do the limited-time decorated levels to celebrate the holidays.
Whether or not Blizzard happened to have seen P-Cate’s fan art and been “inspired” enough to make the decision to design Junkrat after Krampus is unknown. Given Blizzard’s continued involvement and interaction with the Overwatch community, one would imagine (and hope) that they would certainly give credit where it was due, with Junkrat’s design being purely coincidental. At any rate, winter appears to be back in full-swing, so be sure to take advantage of the Overwatch winter event before the snow starts to melt.
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