Nothing makes me feel more out of touch from the world of gaming than seeing people spend $70 on new outfits for their characters. All power to them if they can afford that, but it seems mystifying to me. That’s the price Overwatch is charging for its bundle of five Nier: Automata skins which, as GamesRadar points out, is also more than twice as much as it would cost you to buy Nier: Automata.
2017’s NieR:Automata (as Square Enix wishes we would spell it) is a spellbindingly bonkers action-RPG, a sequel to the spin-off from the Drakengard series, originally released for $60. Right now, if you want to pick up a copy of the beloved game in 2026, it will cost you $40 (and very often $16 in incessant sales). However, if you’d like to dress up your Overwatch character to look like one of Nier‘s, that’ll cost you an eye-watering $70. Oh, and that’s less than half price, down from 16,700 Coins if you bought the items individually to a mere 6,900 when bundled together.
This “Mega Bundle” will net you Automata-themed skins for five of Overwatch‘s characters—Lifeweaver, Mercy, Vendetta, Wuyang and Kiriko—alongside various frippery like name cards, icons, sprays, emotes and a weapon charm, as well as five new victory poses. What it doesn’t have is Highlight Intros, nor any voice lines at all. If you just wanted to pick up a single skin bundle for one character, like the A2 skin for Vendetta, that’ll be $28.
5 Legendary Skins. 2 Iconic Worlds. ✨
🦊 Kiriko x 2B
🌊 Wuyang x 9S
⚔️ Vendetta x A2
🌸 Lifeweaver x Adam
🪽 Mercy x Commander WhiteOverwatch x Project YoRHa is LIVE NOW 💥 pic.twitter.com/3tbjMfPVXr
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 10, 2026
And as noted by GamesRadar, there’s plenty of people who’ve opted in, running around the game cosplaying 2B and 9S, filling Blizzard’s offices with so much money that it’s spilling out the top floor windows.
It strikes me as a special form of lunacy to spend more money on imaginary dress-up using costumes from a game than it would cost to buy the actual game itself, although it’s fair to say most people willing to do so will already own a copy of Nier: Automata. And with Automata now nearly 10 years old, long-term fans are likely desperate for something to remind them of those happy times.
Given skins only cost Blizzard the time spent creating them, these fees are truly outrageous, but priced as high as the company knows people will be willing to pay. I can stare in astonishment that there is a customer base large enough to meet a $70 fee for some jpegs and textures. Meanwhile, all these cuddly Pokémon toys I’m surrounded by? They’re real, tangible objects, so it’s different! Leave me alone!
