Tracer in Smash? That was so last week. A team of 3D animators and designers has just one-upped what turned out to merely be a rumor by creating a full-blown concept video of Zelda's very own Hero of Hyrule as if he were introduced as a character in Overwatch. As it stands, this is closest we've come to the official Nintendo/Overwatch crossover we've all been waiting for—until Tracer actually is added to Smash (please put Tracer in Smash!)
The trailer is meant to showcase a few different elements of how Link would function in Overwatch, including what his pre-Play of the Game screen would look like, how he would move in combat, and the mechanics of opening a loot box (which contains a yellow rupee—what are ten rupees worth in the world if Overwatch, anyway?)
https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/100376881/type/dlg/sid/UUtgUeUpU1084/https://vimeo.com/361117605
Link himself has received a redesign in line with the visual style behind Brigitte and Reinhardt, the two medieval-inspired characters already in the game. The Master Sword is now electric and two-pronged, while retaining its classic and recognizable outline. Link's red, green and blue potions, strapped to an over-the-shoulder belt, are contained in jars that look much more technologically involved than a classic bottle with a cork stopper.
The video was posted to the Vimeo channel of Stéphane Videlo, who currently works as a 3D animator at Riot Games, and was responsible for the rig, animation and video editing in the trailer. Jeremy Vitry came up with the concept art, who himself worked with Blizzard in designing Widowmaker's Biathalon skin and Lúcio's Arctic Fox skin. Link's character model was created by Aaron Walker, who contributed to Spyro Reignited. VFX were created by Etienne POV, who animates VFX for Ori and the Blind Forest developers Moon Studios, and background, props and rendering were done by Philemon Belhomme, who works for Shiro Games, a studio that will be releasing Darkburg, a game to which many of the team behind the video also contributed.
For now, the only official Overawtch/Nintendo experience is to play Overwatch on the Switch when it's released in October, but in the meantime you can always replay this video and wonder if Blizzard will ever pull a Soul Calibur and straight up add Link to the roster someday.