Marvel Rivals Just Stumbled Onto a Gold Mine Overwatch Could’ve Entered 10 Years Ago

Marvel Rivals may feature a majority of the brand’s most popular characters — it recently ticked a big box by making Deadpool playable — but it also has its share of deep cuts. Said niche picks include using Lin Lei Iron Fist in place of Danny Rand and turning Jeff the Land Shark into a healer, with the adorable animal becoming infinitely more popular thanks to NetEase’s game. However, while Jeff may be the mascot for Marvel Rivals due to his cuteness, it’s become increasingly clear that Luna Snow is the studio’s favorite. It’s proving as much via an interesting collab for Luna Snow’s eighth anniversary, and it’s an idea that Blizzard should have had years ago.

In addition to Luna Snow getting yet another Legendary costume, and Deadpool recently breaking the fourth wall to confirm she’s NetEase’s favorite, an in-universe song for the hero is being shared on digital platforms come February 13. And instead of hiring an unknown singer to perform the track, NetEase is working with the famous (and appropriately named) K-pop artist LUNA. This should guarantee the song, called ‘Fight Mode,’ is catchy and fun, and the quality of the track should help justify Luna Snow’s in-universe popularity. It’s an awesome way to embrace the backstory of a character that’s been rising in popularity, and given how excited fans are to hear a full piece of Luna Snow’s music, it’s truly strange to think about how nothing comparable has happened with Overwatch’s Lucio.

Overwatch’s Lucio Deserves Music Just Like What Luna Snow is Getting

Marvel Rivals’ Luna Snow isn’t the first example of a video game getting clever with its use of music. For instance, the excellent and underappreciated Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy featured an in-universe band called Star-Lord, which is where Peter Quill gets his hero name from. The genuinely solid rock music from this band helped give the game its own identity, and helped make its version of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s leader more distinct. A game having a character who is a prominent musician, then, should be an obvious opportunity for some special music to promote said game and make the character in question more interesting. And now, Marvel Rivals has pulled the trigger on Luna’s potential after just over a year.

This quick follow-through only makes the lack of music from Overwatch’s Lucio even stranger. Much like Luna Snow, plenty of heroes talk to the Brazilian icon about his music, with some heroes like D.Va canonically being huge fans of the character’s concerts. As players, it would be great to hear why Lucio’s music is so popular; in just a few weeks, we’ll be hearing why Deadpool is a Luna Snow stan, and simply put, that’s really fun. Lucio has been around since Overwatch launched back in 2016, and that is a large window of time for some EDM tracks for the DJ could have been crafted. With Overwatch having existed for over a decade, it remains odd that a Lucio-made song has yet to drop. Perhaps Jonny Cruz, Lucio’s actor, isn’t open to performing music for his character. But even if that were the case, Blizzard could do what NetEase is doing now and hire a musician to “play” the character.

It’s Never Too Late For Overwatch to Give Lucio His Voice

Image via Blizzard

Fortunately, with Overwatch 2 gearing up for Season 21 and there being no sign of support ending anytime soon, there’s always room for this wish to be made a reality. Much like animated shorts, it’s really just a form of advertising and giving back to the community, and it likely won’t make the game any more popular unless the track manages to go viral. Still, it’s a fun bit of worldbuilding that makes the characters feel more fleshed out, and it would be a nice special attraction that makes a season stand out a bit.

Given the Lucio-OHs cereal that was briefly available in stores when Overwatch peaked in popularity, the AoE support character is clearly marketable and recognizable. If his music has made him popular enough to justify food being made with his name attached, players actually hearing some of it is long overdue. And while Lucio may not be Blizzard’s favorite like Luna is NetEase’s — Kiriko has seemingly become the Overwatch brand’s mascot — the two biggest hero shooters undoubtedly keep an eye on one another. As such, maybe seeing Luna Snow get an official song will finally push Blizzard to let Lucio shine. With some memorable music for Overwatch released over the years (the Midtown map theme is genuinely terrific) it’s easy to imagine some tracks from Lucio being anything less than great.

Released

December 6, 2024

ESRB

T For Teen // Violence

Developer(s)

NetEase Games

Publisher(s)

NetEase Games