The best video game crossovers ever

The idea of crossovers in video games is rather obvious – when you have a plentiful of well-established diverse universes, at some point, you start wanting to see them run into each other. It’s an even more desired concept when you have games of somewhat close themes or genres – like Hotline Miami and Payday 2, for instance. When you start thinking about successful crossovers, the very first thought is about “Games as service” as they are probably the best kind of games to incorporate other intellectual property – and to benefit from it.

Fortnite X The Avengers / John Wick / Borderlands 3

Fortnite is by far one of the most popular video games in the world, which makes it the perfect candidate to feature various crossovers. Luckily, Epic Games is very open to this idea – and that’s why we’ve already seen Thanos as an OP playable character, John Wick as an unlockable cosmetic for your hero, and a lot more. The most recent addition is Claptrap – right before the anticipated release of Borderlands 3, the beloved annoying robot is having a cameo in Fortnite along with his pals. On top of that, there’s reportedly a potential crossover with IT coming. Yep, with the movie about the monstrous clown.

Payday 2 X John Wick / Hotline Miami / Reservoir Dogs

As a popular criminal action, Payday 2 throughout its life cycle attracted tons of theme-related crossovers with the most notable ones featured in the subtitle. And speaking of the aforementioned John Wick, his presence was much bigger in Payday 2 in comparison to Fortnite since the events of the movies and the criminal action take place in the same universe according to the lore. Another huge collaboration with an outstanding movie resulted in “Reservoir Dogs”-themed heist for the game. Once again, a fairly similar setting allowed for a natural and atmospheric result. And Hotline Miami was the icing on the cake!

Final Fantasy 15 X Half-Life / Forza Horizon 3 / Assassin’s Creed

While Final Fantasy 15 is not strictly a racing game, you have to spend a fair amount of time driving around the world in your luxurious sedan called Regalia. And this very car made an appearance in Forza Horizon 3 where you could experience the ride like never before! Speaking of other universes sneaking into Final Fantasy 15 instead, I definitely have to mention the crossover with Half-Life – you could gain access to Gordon’s legendary HEV suit, glasses, and trusty crowbar. Finally, the game featured a proper collaboration with Assassin’s Creed thanks to a proper expansion The Assassin’s Festival. Despite advertising AC Origins, that piece of content was fairly enjoyable and entertaining.

Rocket League X Back to the Future / Batman / Ghostbusters

Hardly anyone from the Rocket League development team has ever dreamed of the game’s eventual popularity when it was still being worked on before the release. A few years later, the title became a true benchmark in “Games as service” approach – in a positive way. Rapidly growing fame and never-ending support by the devs led to a series of themed expansions and crossovers. A few of the most notable ones would be, obviously, “Back to the Future,” “Batman,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Jurassic Park” – all of these movies lent their signature cars for utilizing in the game. Even more themed additions were made thanks to the customization options available in Rocket League like decals, banners, antenna toys, etc.

Monster Hunter World X The Witcher / Horizon Zero Dawn / Devil May Cry

Another hugely popular Japanese game – and another round of entertaining crossovers for the audience to enjoy. Monster Hunter World has the perfect setting for some of the most popular video game characters – and yes, the absolute favourite here is Geralt from Rivia, the Witcher. He’s literally a monster slayer! Interestingly, Capcom took the opportunity to add some Witcher-specific mechanics to the game for the sake of authenticity and the attention for details. Another crossover saw the universes of Monster Hunter and Devil May Cry collide – you could craft a combo sword with features of both Force Edge and Alastor, and on top of that, you could also equip Dante’s iconic outfit. Finally, Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn made an appearance in MH World – and she was on spot so much, that Capcom decided to reintroduce her to the game with the upcoming Iceborne expansion.

Bonus Round – Robocop vs. Terminator

That was my absolute favourite game on Sega Mega Drive 2. While it didn’t feature strictly video game characters, it still fulfilled the purpose of bringing together remarkable heroes from different universes. Playing as the Detroit’s finest robotic police officer, you had to fight your way through hordes of Terminators and increasingly tough bosses – until the very moment when you destroy Skynet. It was a rather straightforward action shooter, but it was packed with secrets, Easter eggs, great level design, and a distinctive set of weaponry. Oh, and the soundtrack!

*****

Obviously, there’re many more examples – like guest characters in NetherRealm’s titles, for instance. Apart from minor appearances, there’ve been – and still are – full-on proper franchises built on the idea of bringing together various universes. Capcom has a few times clashed its diverse cast of characters with Marvel’s heroes – and the result is a fairly okay series of fighting games. Let’s not forget about the modding community – thanks to the army of talented players, there’re countless mods that allow you to feature any existing character in a certain video game. But honestly, it’s the crossovers listed above that we love the most. Perhaps, you have your very own list – and if you do, don’t hesitate to share it with us!