Back In The Fight

Blizzard gambled when it announced Overwatch 2, a sort-of sequel without a release date. But it might pay off: right now the world needs heroes

- Dom PePPiatt

There aren’t many games like Overwatch. It’s utopian in its outlook – uplifting, optimistic, full of hope and promise. Overwatch’s world is one in which people come together and work in unison to achieve a common goal. Whether it’s in the game’s fiction or in the competitive gaming scene that’s blossomed around the fledgling series, Overwatch has become a symbol of unity, of confidence, of positivity.

And that’s no accident. “One of the things that brought me to Overwatch and made me want to join the team here at Blizzard was the message of inclusivity and hope that’s built into the game,” explains Julia Humphreys, production director on Overwatch 2. “The idea that you can look for yourself and try to find yourself in this roster of heroes appealed to me so much… I think that roster really encompasses a broad spectrum of what it means to be a human being on this planet.”

Overwatch’s 31-character strong roster is, we daresay, one of the most diverse in gaming. It presents heroes from all around the world, of multiple ethnicities, gender identities and sexual orientations, uniting to suppress a common threat. These heroes, the crux of Overwatch’s appeal, have been the headline feature of the game since its launch in 2016, but their stories have been sidelined. Tucked away in comics, shown in flashy animated shorts or drip-fed in bizarre ARGs, Blizzard has kept Overwatch lore out of the spotlight where possible. But with Overwatch 2, all that is about to change.