After gaining its initial wave of popularity through its rental service, Netflix then became a household name with its online streaming service, giving users access to entire seasons of prestige shows like Breaking Bad within just one tap. As Netflix has continued to grow in popularity, the more the streaming giant has tried to corner different aspects of the entertainment market. One of Netflix's most divisive areas has been its original content. While some shows manage to stand out from the crowd, and use their phenomenally-high budget effectively, the majority of Netflix's original offerings don't. Thankfully, The Umbrella Academy fits into the former category.
Originally airing in 2019, The Umbrella Academy is a show that revolves around a misfit family of superheroes, based on a comic of the same name by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. While the show has its fair share of action sequences, it doesn't immediately lend itself to the video game format, but that hasn't stopped Call of Duty: Warzone from crossing over with it. Releasing yesterday, Warzone players can now purchase cosmetic bundles based on Umbrella Academy's Cha-Cha and Hazel, including themed skins, weapon blueprints, and finishing moves. While this crossover is neat for fans, there are a few other games that may be better suited to Umbrella Academy's unique tone and style.
Other Games That The Umbrella Academy Could Crossover With
When it comes to pop-culture crossovers in video games, there's one title that immediately springs to mind nowadays. Over the last five years, Fortnite has managed to cross-over with just about every big license out there, from Star Wars, to Marvel, to DC, to Halo. Chances are, if there's a big movie, TV show, or game coming out, then Fortnite will have at least one cosmetic based on it. That being said, The Umbrella Academy has never crossed over with Fortnite.
While The Umbrella Academy is mostly a more grounded take on the superhero genre, there's a tongue-in-cheek tone that runs throughout the entire show, with full-on dance breaks occurring at least once every season. So, with that in mind, it would make perfect sense for Umbrella Academy to come to Fortnite in some form, as the game's cartoon-y aesthetic and tone would fit the show well. The most simple form of crossover would be skins based on the main Umbrella Academy cast, or even perhaps the new Sparrow Academy characters.
But Fortnite isn't a stranger to going above and beyond with its crossovers, its most recent Dragon Ball one being a prime example. A hypothetical Fortnite x Umbrella Academy crossover could involve some form of time travel rifts, or NPCs based on the Temps Commission attacking the player.
Though it doesn't quite have the same volume of crossovers as Fortnite, SMITE certainly rivals the battle royale in terms of sheer absurdity when it comes to crossovers. Over the last year, SMITE has crossed over with Transformers, Stranger Things, and Danny Phantom. Recently, SMITE even added the band Slipknot to the game, marking one of the strangest crossovers in the entire industry. With the precedent already set, it would make complete sense for The Umbrella Academy to crossover with SMITE.
In terms of actual gameplay as well, The Umbrella Academy would fit well with SMITE's MOBA action, with each member of the Academy being given their own set of distinct powers. Wether it's just cosmetics, or gameplay integration as well, The Umbrella Academy has a lot of potential for video game crossovers beyond just Call of Duty: Warzone.
The Umbrella Academy is available on Netflix.