Gaming's weirdest holiday trend peaked in 2021

Swole Saint Nick emerged as a curious trend in winter 2021 with games like Battlefield 2042 and Splitgate, but video games at large have a puzzling history with buff Santas.

This swole Saint Nick is only giving one present away for Christmas: bullets.

The Legendary “Father Winter” cosmetic leaked in early December, and fans did not like it. DICE put out a statement saying it won’t use the skin this year. Was this Santa a little too strong?

Watch out! Because when Father Winter does come to Battlefield 2042, he’ll be right at home in any wintry landscape.

In a Yakuza 5 side story, Saejima dresses up as Santa to draw out “Santa Hunters” who are beating up people wearing Santa outfits.

After running away from some children eager to get Christmas presents early, you deliver some Christmas justice to delinquents who try to beat Santa up.

Maybe Santa uses portals similar to the ones in Splitgate to deliver presents to kids around the world in one night?

Since Season 7, Fortnite’s Sgt. Winter (who we assume is the son of Father Winter) has jingled up the competition. Don’t get on his naughty list.

One of Overwatch’s most iconic Christmas skins — called Santaclad — transforms Torbjörn into Santa. This Santa may be small, but he can still sleigh you quickly on the battlefield.

One of the strongest Champions in Runeterra cosplays as Santa during the holidays in games like League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra. He’ll certainly keep you warm.

Let’s end with something pretty cursed. I had to see this, and now you do as well. Merry Christmas!