It may be too late to save the Overwatch fandom

Overwatch’s announcement trailer, released back in 2014, was bombastic and beautiful, and it kicked off a fervent fandom. Bright designs and strong characters were a big hit with players. The setting also evoked optimism. The game’s launch and follow-up cinematics only solidified this fan base; people loved to ship characters, imagine their missions, and daydream about future lore. OverwatchIt was so popular and well-known that it revolutionized Rule 34. Everywhere.

And then, all of a sudden, the legend vanished. The lore slowed to a trickle after 2018 and eventually came to a complete stop, along with major additions — we haven’t seen a new hero since 2020. We are now at the threshold of Overwatch 2’s PvP entering beta and a new Overwatch League season, the game should be poised for a triumphant return. Instead, it’s on shakier ground than ever, and other developers have snatched the momentum from Blizzard and ran with it instead.

The floodgates are open

OverwatchThe idea to create a hero-shooter based on strong characters, as shown through filmtics, was not invented by Valve. Valve’s Team Fortress 2 and its “Meet the Team” cinematics still hold up nearly 15 years later, and they’re far less complex and elaborate than Overwatch’s trailers.

But Overwatch’s utopian near-future and diverse cast attracted a fan base that had been historically underserved by the first-person shooter genre. Queer and female gamers formed communities around the game. Some were there for gameplay only, others for the characters and lore.

OverwatchIt was a cultural icon in its day. A huge fandom grew out of the stunning cinematics and vibrant characters, as well as hints at larger stories. Cosplayers were everywhere OverwatchCharacters and their skins were created, fan fiction epics written, fanart was shared, 3D animations made of original heroes and many more. They were the core of everything. OverwatchFandom is about playing and feeding their imaginations.

The impact of OverwatchIt is evident in the competition. Character rosters feel more important than ever; just having a series of gun guys with mysterious backstories doesn’t cut it anymore. Apex Legends, Rainbow Six SiegeAnd Valorant are all great examples of games where a character’s aesthetics, personalities, and background matter as much as their gameplay. Developers now promote and create characters such as Valorant’s Neon, a Filipina speedster; Rainbow Six Siege’s trans operator Osa, and nonbinary Apex LegendsBloodhound Character

OverwatchThese other titles would be able to compete with it in the future, and not due to its roster or its legend, but because there isn’t enough consistency.

Pacing and purpose, plot, and pacing

Overwatch set up big, dramatic dominos — and then proceeded to just gesture at them and say “Pretty cool, huh?” There were big mysteries set up from day one, like a climactic showdown at Overwatch’s Swiss HQ. In the 2016 cinematic “Recall,” Winston presses the big red button to restart Overwatch. We don’t see Overwatch actually go on a mission until the 2019 cinematic “Zero Hour,” which sets up campaign content that currently has no release date.

Storm Rising Archives in 2019 was my personal breaking point. It culminated in a meeting between a robot and Doomfist from the terrorist organization Talon. After he agreed to help the cause, he took off his mask to show that… a robot guy. I haven’t seen him before or since. Instead of resolving anything with the current cast, there’s a random new character with many more mysteries involved. This was the first time I’d found out about it. It had taken me several months, but now all that is left to do is wait. I couldn’t do it anymore.

While Overwatch stumbled, games like Valorant And Apex LegendsThe gap was closed. ValorantRiot plans to bring six new heroes each year. However, Riot has already proven it can keep a loyal fanbase.

Valorant, in particular, establishes a comfortable “present” that fans can safely theorize about and imagine characters in. There are big story-heavy cinematics, but they’re also peppered with smaller pieces meant to set up the moment. You can watch Raze dance around her hometown and take a manga-inspired look at Yoru’s typical day. A cinematic from January called “Warm Up” shows a chunk of the cast hanging out and having target practice; there are no narrative stakes, no confrontations, no epic storyline. It’s just fun banter and action. There is no waiting in the wings for the story’s perfect conclusion.

Meanwhile, Overwatch fans would daydream about parts of the game’s canon as they waited for the next installation in the story, only to have their ideas about the past or present contradicted later as the plot lurched forward from reveal to reveal. Many fans weren’t satisfied with the 2022 novella that answered questions about Reaper from 2016.

Too little, too late

Blizzard made its final move to this location at the end 2021. OverwatchMove forward. Comics were released that showed Cole Cassidy, the cowboy outlaw and previously known as Jesse McCree, trying to get his gang back together. Activision Blizzard renamed the character after it was discovered that references to developers or employees had been removed in October following a case involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination and other forms of harassment.

Also, there was the 2020 Tracer comic with a fun supporting cast made by an art I really like. But it’s too late! There’s only so long you can bang on the pot with a ladle promising me the good slop, only delivering spoonfuls, before I go and find another trough.

Overwatch’s lore has been in stasis for so long, and its fandom has been so willing to make a meal out of the crumbs sprinkled out over the years, that I feel like the fans’ version of the cast is more concrete than the actual canon. The short story about the Reaper was published and I found myself a little confused throughout. I don’t know who This guy is, but he’s not Reaper to Please send me.

It’s possible that Blizzard will be able to recapture the magic with Overwatch 2’s updates and upcoming PvE campaigns, and it’s also possible that the train has left the station. It was an extremely brief and beautiful moment in my life that I really loved. Overwatch. I feel a little frustrated at the franchise. There’s only so long you ask players to wait and see before they just give up altogether.