Though a fair bit has been revealed about the Overwatch 2 hero Kiriko, her fox companion’s name is still a mystery, and players are taking it into their own hands to come up with one. Unsurprisingly, many of the names suggested by Overwatch 2 fans are comedic in nature.
Kiriko is the latest Support hero to join the Overwatch roster, and she will be the third and final new hero available to Overwatch 2 fans at launch. Unlike Junker Queen and Sojourn, she will need to be unlocked, with players having a few ways to do this. Those looking to take control of Kiriko will need to reach level 55 of the free battle pass or purchase the premium version for instant access. Additionally, those that played the original Overwatch will have instant access to the character and her adorable fox.
While Kiriko’s kit shows a lot of potential, as the hero has impressive movement capabilities and can negate a fair bit of damage, it is her ethereal pet that has drawn the most attention. The spectral fox will appear once Kiriko activates her Ultimate ability, with the Yokai being a source of her abilities. However, as important as this ghostly figure is, Blizzard has yet to unveil its name. Perhaps the name will be unveiled in the upcoming animated short for Kiriko or through in-game dialogue, but until then, fans are having fun speculating about it.
In a thread started by Reddit user PlumSploosh, the Overwatch community was asked to come up with their own name for the fox, leading to a wide variety of answers. Several Reddit users like The—Numbers—Mason had the most popular answer with Jeff, a nod to former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan. Given how popular Kaplan was, it is not too shocking that he was referenced, though his name was far from the only one to be brought up. For instance, Fragrant_Ad5944 said it should just be named Fox, alluding to how Overwatch players go with basic names for callouts.
NeeroX-_- referenced Foxy Cleopatra from the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, while geizterbahn had a funny and popular response with Paywall - a nod to Overwatch 2’s controversial battle passes. Luna is mentioned by PhasmaMain98, bringing up the meme suggesting that Overwatch has copied Paladins’ fox design, while eXacTv wants the name to be a reference to Dora The Explorer’s Swiper. Redditor ghostmacaroni had some more serious suggestions with Inari, Kuzunoha, Zenko, or Yako, all of which have their roots in religion and mythology.
As pointed out by a few commenters, it seems likely that the fox will get an official name eventually. With Bastion’s bird Ganymede having its own title, it seems fitting that Kiriko's fox would get one as well.
Overwatch 2 launches on October 4 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
