We Are Royale Imagines Dark Ride within Blizzard World for Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft

We Are Royale (WAR) partnered with Blizzard Entertainment to produce the launch trailer for Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft, an epic crossover event that brings World of Warcraft-themed skins to Season 12 of Overwatch 2, a free-to-play first-person shooter.

The skin collab commemorates the 20th anniversary of World of Warcraft (WoW), the iconic online role-playing game also developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Sylvanas Windrunner Widowmaker, Lich King Reinhardt, Thrall Zenyatta, and Diamond Magni Torbjorn Legendary are among the beloved characters receiving an homage.

WAR’s animated trailer continues the spirit of nostalgia seen in previous Overwatch crossover promotions. The Cowboy Bebop collab trailer, for instance, was a tribute to the anime series’ classic show open, while the Transformers promo dialled up a throwback ‘80s-style “G1” animation.

To keep the nostalgia train chugging along, WAR created an old-school dark ride inside Blizzard World, the theme-park-inspired hybrid map within the game Overwatch 2 — think Mr. Toad, Indiana Jones, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

“Blizzard World is more than a tactical gameplay map; it is the ultimate celebration of Blizzard IP,” remarks Brien Holman, chief creative officer at WAR. “It was the perfect entry point to set the stage for the new skins, as we aimed to embrace the idea that the latest skin collab dealt with two franchises within the Activision Blizzard family. We had a lot of fun imagining a dark ride within Blizzard World and mapping it out in a true-to-form dark ride experience featuring all the WoW skin lines.”

WAR mapped out the journey and planned it as if it were a real physical character and story-driven dark ride with immersive attractions, highlighting the skins in all their glory. They infused these elements with subtle details reminiscent of classic dark rides, such as animatronic movements and sound designs you might hear while twisting and turning from one stop to the next. 

“Theoretically, you could turn this into a real ride,” concluded Brien. “It's physically possible; the space exists and provided our animators and designers a sandbox to experiment with merging the lore and aesthetics of the different IP – the future-forward setting of Overwatch, combined with the ancient fire-and-brimstone aesthetic of WoW, while extending the larger brand of Blizzard Entertainment and what’s possible through Blizzard World.”