Is Overwatch Another Victim Of The Mysterious Persona 5 Curse?

After a messy three years, February 2026 marks the end of Overwatch 2, which is set to title itself as simply "Overwatch" moving forward.

While some are gearing up for an exciting revamp of one of the most seminal hero shooters out there, others have been quick to note that Blizzard's beloved title seems to be yet another game claimed by the infamous Persona 5 curse, after a high-profile crossover event.

In case you missed it: In September 2025, Blizzard dropped a collab with Persona 5, giving six heroes skins in the form of the JRPG's main characters, the Phantom Thieves. Now, only six months later, the Overwatch devs have announced a major update that is set to bring a clean slate for the title. Kicking off the new "Reign of Talon" season, Blizzard shared a stunning new cinematic featuring the new playable character Vendetta squaring off against long-time villain Doomfist. Game Director Aaron Keller would also lay out the game's 2026 roadmap, revealing a wealth of new heroes and other additions.

This update has brought plenty of optimism back to the game, drawing both new and old players to dive back into capturing points in Lijian Tower. Earlier in February 2026, GameRant reported that Overwatch had reached an all-time player count peak, overtaking Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty on Steam. However, with the revamp effectively deleting Overwatch 2 (challenging Esport that it is), fans say the game has technically fulfilled the Persona 5 curse, adding yet another live-service title to its list of victims.

There aren't many gaming superstitions out there. However, the so-called Persona 5 curse has claimed so many victims at this point that it's almost too hard to ignore.

This is an unfortunate trend fans have spotted where, after a game partners with the Persona 5 IP in some way, it will suddenly shut down or enter an "End of Service" period within a few years.

Star Ocean Amamnesis would be the first victim of the curse. The gacha game announced a collab with the JRPG on October 19, 2019, and shut down in June 2021. Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag, as we reported at the time, then partnered with Persona 5 on February 17, 2020. It would meet a similar fate a few months later, shuttering servers on August 30, 2021. Another gacha game, Dragalia Lost, announced its collaboration with Persona 5 on January 31, 2021, and shut down for good in November 2022. Nier Reincarnation and Persona 5 would share a crossover on September 9, 2022, and the former would shut down on April 30, 2024.

With this string of live-service titles suddenly shutting down only a short time after their in-game events, Persona 5 fans would start to state in jest that the franchise was tainted.

Now, not all live-service games that have had a Persona 5 collaboration have shut down. Granblue Fantasy is still going strong eight years after its in-game event, so the curse doesn't always have a 100 per cent success rate. Not to mention Atlus' very own live-service game, Persona 5: The Phantom X, which released only last year and is still going fairly strong.

Still, with a wide range of examples to point to, the gaming community has rallied around this supposed superstition.

Why are People Saying Overwatch 2 Got Hit by the Persona 5 Curse?

While Overwatch is here to stay, dropping the "2" from its name has led social media to interpret the rebranding as a form of "death."

As noted, In September 2025, Overwatch marked its seventh branded collaboration to date. The release would see heroes Mercy, D.Va, Lifeweaver, Genji and the recently released Wuyang receive skins in the style of the iconic Phantom Thieves. The heroes would also receive new "play of the game" animations and emotes that resembled the Phantom Thieves' "all-out" attacks, which, for a fan of both franchises, were a treat to see.

Admittedly, the collab was very impressive and once again showcased the Overwatch team's stellar skin design, tempting some to want to drop $69 to pick up the entire bundle.

It's also important to note here that the curse doesn't relate to the level of quality of the event or even the game, really.Instead, it's more a representation of the ongoing difficulties live-service games have with maintaining a steady flow of monetization to justify keeping them going.

There's also a schadenfreude element to this meme. Given the negative reception the Overwatch franchise received when it dropped its infamous "Overwatch 2" update in 2022, gamers have been less than enthused with the direction Blizzard has taken the game.

Overwatch 2 brought with it several maps and skin changes, controversial UI overhauls, reworks of beloved characters and most infamously, an all-new monetization system which removed loot boxes in favor of its battle pass. The update would also make 5v5 its staple mode, in an effort to shake up the game and get rid of its infamous GOATS meta.

Another significant slice of content teased was the highly anticipated PvE story mode, which was set to push the Overwatch story forward beyond its cinematics and hero releases.

However, two years after Overwatch 2's release, the mode would officially be cancelled in the lead-up to Microsoft's acquisition of Blizzard.

Fans celebrating the revamp of Overwatch 2 and the success of the Persona 5 curse here is more a widespread cheer that Blizzard has listened to its fans and is actively reworking some of its more unpopular design choices in favor of a better player experience.

What Does the Persona 5 Curse Mean for Overwatch?

In truth, this is all very deeply unserious.

As shown by the recent influx of players at the news of the revamp, it's clear there's plenty of life left in the franchise to keep it going for years to come. In saying that, the Persona 5 curse does make for an interesting bookend to Overwatch 2's overall legacy, which has been steeped in controversy and negative player feedback throughout its entire life cycle.

Here's hoping that the new revamp can right the ship and, if Blizzard chooses to do another Persona collab to round off the remaining Phantom Thieves, it doesn't fall victim again to the curse a year later. It's got to keep ahead of the likes of Marvel Rivals, after all.