Nike’s CryoShoot X2 Collection Drops This Week with World Cup Collabs

Nike is rolling out the CryoShot X2 collection this week as part of their World Cup celebration. The line transforms vintage football boots by encasing their spikes in clear casing, designed to be wearable as everyday sneakers. The collection represents a global collaborative effort, with seven of Nike’s partners each designing CryoShots and accompanying apparel for their respective national teams. Partners include Virgil Abloh Archives for the USA, Drake and NOCTA for Canada, and Jacquemus for France, among others.

The CryoShot concept was first introduced in Spring 2025, over a year before this release. Nike revealed initial models, the Mercurial R9 and Tiempo Legend 10R, encased in blocks of ice. The timing capitalized on the #bootsonly trend that emerged on TikTok in early 2025, where creators wore cleats for everyday activities like getting coffee or running errands. That initial teaser came in May 2025, just weeks after adidas revealed leaks of their own F50 Adiframe with a similar clear casing approach.

Both brands took the long route to market. adidas released their Adiframe in February 2026, while Nike’s first CryoShot release waited until this week. The year-plus gap between reveal and availability likely stems from production timelines. Both brands were likely already in prototyping stages when the TikTok trend emerged, allowing them to rush early samples out for visibility while manufacturing continued.

The X2 collection’s appeal lies in the engineering underneath, offering a look at the modified footbed and spike structure. Each style in the collection carries a price tag above $200, which positions these as premium World Cup releases rather than mass-market products. The high entry point makes them accessible primarily to collectors interested in the technical execution and collaborative design work.