'Overwatch' Genji Oni skin: How to unlock it for free on PC, Xbox One and PS4

Impact
By Tim Mulkerin

Update: Genji's Oni skin is available once again through the "Nexus Challenge 2.0." You'll only have to play five games in Heroes of the Storm — in Versus A.I., Quick Match, Unranked, or Ranked modes — to unlock the Oni skin in Overwatch. You can earn the Oni skin until May 1. The original story — from when the Oni skin was available at the end of 2016 — follows.

At BlizzCon, Blizzard announced that between Tuesday and Jan. 4, Overwatch players can earn an exclusive skin for Genji called "Oni" by putting some time into Blizzard's free MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. In addition to the skin, players will also unlock an Oni player portrait and spray. Here's how to do it.

Blizzard Entertainment

How to unlock Genji's Oni skin, spray and portrait in Overwatch

All you have to do to get the Oni items for Genji is play 15 games in Heroes of the Storm "with a friend" in the "co-op vs. AI, quick match, unranked draft or ranked modes," according to Blizzard's website. Since Heroes of the Storm is a free game for PC, you won't need to pay anything to get the Oni skin. Just visit the Heroes of the Storm website to download it.

The quickest way to complete these 15 matches is probably to team up with a friend in the co-op vs. AI mode and set the enemy difficulty level as low as possible. The good news is that you only need to complete the 15 matches — not necessarily win them — so as long as you put in some time, the items will be yours.

Playing Heroes of the Storm during this window will also unlock items in that game. Playing 15 matches unlocks Overwatch's Zarya as a playable character. If you play 30 matches you'll unlock four additional Heroes of the Storm characters, a mount and a 30-day stimpack.

Overwatch Genji Oni skin: How to get it for PS4 and Xbox One

If you want to get the Oni skin onto a console version of Overwatch, link the Battle.net account you're using to play Heroes of the Storm to your PSN or Xbox Live account.

Here are instructions for how to link your account on a computer:

1. Log in to Battle.net.

And here's how to link your account from your console:

1. While in the game, open the main menu and choose Link Account.