Background
''Overwatch'' is primarily an online team-oriented first-person shooter, and an example of a " hero shooter" where players select from one of several pre-designed hero characters with their own unique abilities. ''Overwatch'' includes casual play modes, competitive ranked play modes, and various arcade modes where special rules apply. Most game modes bring together two teams of six players each into a match and compete in one of several objective-based game types based on the randomly selected map, including taking control points and escorting a payload. A match starts with each player selecting from one of the available hero characters. The game's characters are divided into three role classifications: damage, tank, and support. Damage characters are often doing the most damage and help the team with the majority of kills. Tank characters can absorb large amounts of damage for the team, and support characters share healing abilities and similarOverview
'' Overwatch'' originally featured 12 characters at its November 2014 BlizzCon convention announcement, but expanded to 21 by the next year's convention. The game is character-driven, and reviewers noted ''Overwatch'' emphasis on the individual differences between characters in the same role (e.g., between two snipers) as a departure from dominant class-based shooter paradigms. Critics widely praised the game's accessible and detailed character design and its role in the game's overall success. Similar to Valve's initial launch of '' Team Fortress 2'', in the absence of a dedicated story mode, Blizzard tells the backstory of ''Overwatch'' plot and characters through media outside the game, including animated shorts, character press events, tweets, and webcomics. The game's story centers around a technological singularity in which humanity assembles a team of its best heroes, Overwatch, to fight off a rogue artificial intelligence and its robotic army of Omnics in an incident called the "Omnic Crisis". After winning its battle, the Overwatch kept the peace for about three decades before infighting led to its disbandment. The game takes place approximately sixty years in the future, during a time period in which the world is slipping into disarray, and former Overwatch members along with new allies, as well as enemies, are being called on to help protect the peace in their respective favors. Among Overwatch's enemies include Talon, a global criminal network seeking wealth and power. In early 2016, Blizzard released media kits with granular character detail for fan artists and cosplayers. Preceding the game's launch, PornHub reported a surge in searches for pornography including ''Overwatch'' characters. An intellectual property security firm issued multiple takedown requests to sites featuring such videos and other erotica created in Source Filmmaker.Development
''Overwatch'' was developed by Blizzard following the cancellation of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game ''Characters
Tank heroes
Tank characters broadly have a high number of hit points and often have some type of shielding to withstand damage, but tend to have lower range than the other roles and either tend to lack mobility or offensive strength.D.Va
D.Va, real name Hana Song, is a South Korean mecha pilot and former pro gamer from Busan. She pilots a combat mecha armed with twin ''Fusion Cannons'', shotgun-like weapons that require no ammunition or reload time. Her mecha is equipped with rocket ''Boosters'' for short bursts of flight, as well as a ''Defense Matrix'' that allows it to destroy enemy projectiles in the air. She can also fire a volley of ''Micro-Missiles'' that do splash damage on impact. D.Va's ultimate ability, ''Self-Destruct'', overloads and detonates her mecha, dealing massive damage to all enemies in a huge radius within line of sight. If her mech is destroyed (either by her ultimate or in combat), she ejects and continues to fight on foot, armed with a mid-range ''Light Gun'', until her mecha can be summoned again. To protect its cities against a massive omnic that rose from theDoomfist
Doomfist is both the name of the titular cyberneticJunker Queen
Junker Queen, real name Odessa "Dez" Stone, is the new ruler of Junkertown, a ramshackle city in theOrisa
Orisa is a four-legged centaur-like female Omnic built by 11-year-old robotics prodigy Efi Oladele, to be a "mechanical peacekeeper" of Numbani. Within her ''Overwatch'' skill kit, her primary weapon was the ''Fusion Driver'', a long-range projectile-based machine gun; its alternate fire mode, ''Halt!'', released a slow-moving projectile that the player could detonate to draw in nearby enemies towards the point of detonation, similar to Zarya's Graviton Surge. She could launch a deployable ''Protective Barrier'' similar to Reinhardt's shield which could be used for strategic defenses, and could ''Fortify'' herself to temporarily prevent all forms of crowd control against her, such as Lúcio's sonic blasts or Reinhardt's Earthshatter abilities. Her ultimate ability was ''Supercharger'', a deployable device which gave Orisa and her teammates, provided they were in line-of-sight, an attack boost similar to that of Mercy, though the Supercharger itself could be destroyed by enemy fire and deactivated after a few seconds. Orisa's skillkit was rebuilt significantly for ''Overwatch 2'', meant to speed up play and reduce dependence on shields. Her Barrier, Halt, and Supercharger abilities have been removed, and instead she gained an ''Energy Javelin'' that can be used to launch enemies away, potentially damaging them if they hit walls. Orisa can also use her ''Javelin Spin'' to surge forward, directly attacking enemies and destroying projectiles. Her ultimate ability is ''Terra Surge'' that draws enemies towards her while making her immune to stun and crowd control effects. Additionally, her Fusion Driver fires large projectiles that shrink down as they travel. Rebuilt from the wreckage of an OR15 defense robot after an attack by Doomfist in her home city of Numbani, Efi upgraded the hardware and software on the Omnic, emphasizing public safety as its primary objective. Efi's upgrades on the robot also created a sentient identity, in which Efi dubbed the robot Orisa from its designation number. Her name derives from "Ramattra
Ramattra is an Omnic tank character, originally built as a commando unit known as a Ravager during the Omnic Crisis. He later became of the Shambali Omnic monks along with Mondatta to learn the ways of peace and tranquility with the hope of coexisting with humans and put his previous life behind. He later recruited Zenyatta into the order and became close as brothers. Disappointed with the way humans had violently mistreated Omnics despite many peace attempts. Forced to watch his people dwindle in limited numbers, Ramattra grew resentful to humanity, coming to the conclusion of coexistence was impossible and that the only way to achieve a better future for omnics is by force and left the Shambali Order. He gathered a hand full of omnics who share his vision, creating the Omnic terrorist/extremist faction, ''Null Sector'' as its leader and declared war on mankind. Ramattra spends most of his time in his normal Omnic form, using his ''Void Accelerator'' to fire projectiles at enemies and protecting his teammates with his projected ''Void Barrier''. He can fire small spheres that when contacting the ground, create a ''Ravenous Vortex'' that draws enemies briefly into it and slows their movement. One skill is the ability to transform into his Nemesis form that changes his attacks to ''Pummel'', an onslaught of melee punches, as well as a secondary skill, ''Block'', that reduces incoming damage, but requires Ramattra to hold still and unable to attack. The Nemesis form only lasts for eight seconds before Ramattra reverts to his normal Omnic form. Ramattra's ultimate is ''Annihilation'', which converts Ramattra to his Nemesis form and send out a continuous beam of damaging nanobots, while blocking all incoming damage by half. He was briefly introduced during theReinhardt
Reinhardt Wilhelm is a German soldier and adventurer, and one of the founding members of Overwatch. He wears a heavy suit of Crusader power armor, and carries a rocket-powered war hammer (''Rocket Hammer'') as his primary weapon. His main ability is a wide hard-light ''Barrier Field'' mounted on his arm that allows him to protect himself and teammates behind him from enemy fire. He may also launch a flaming projectile that ignores enemy barriers (''Fire Strike''), or use a rocket booster to ''Charge'' into the enemy lines, crushing them against walls. His ultimate ability, ''Earthshatter'', makes him slam his hammer against the ground, sending out a shockwave that incapacitates enemies in front of him. Reinhardt Wilhelm is a decorated Bundeswehr veteran fromRoadhog
Roadhog, real name Mako Rutledge, is Junkrat'sSigma
Sigma, real name Siebren de Kuiper, is a Dutch astrophysicist associated with Talon. His main weapons are ''Hyperspheres'', gravitic projectiles that can bounce off walls and damage a small area that draw foes into the explosion, and ''Accretion'', which gathers debris into a large projectile to kinetically throw at opponents, causing knockback. He also has two defensive abilities: ''Experimental Barrier'', a barrier that he can deployed outward in front of him to a variable distance and then recall it, upon which it starts regenerating any damage taken; and ''Kinetic Grasp'', which creates a field that absorbs projectiles that hit it which, upon release, coverts that into temporary shields for the character. His ultimate, ''Gravitic Flux'', allows him to fly up briefly to place a black hole on the ground. Any opponents trapped within the range of the hole are thrown up into the air for several seconds before being slammed to the ground, taking half of their maximum health on impact. De Kuiper was a pioneering figure in his field and conducted most of his research at his laboratory in The Hague. He established a foundation for his work to where he moved onto performing further experiments aboard an international space station. However, an experiment went wrong, briefly creating aWinston
Winston is a genetically engineered gorilla, scientist, and adventurer. He wields a short-range ''Tesla Cannon'' that electrocutes enemies at close range, and wears armor that incorporates a ''Jump Pack'', allowing him to make leaps across great distances and damage foes on landing. He can also deploy a ''Barrier Projector'' that provides a temporary spherical barrier to protect himself and teammates from enemy fire. Winston's ultimate ability is ''Primal Rage'', in which he briefly gives in to "the beast within" to get massively increased health and powerful melee attacks with knockback, although he foregoes his primary weapon. Winston was among a group of genetically enhanced gorillas living at the Horizon Lunar Colony, a research base on the Moon, intended to test the effects of prolonged habitation in space. He took his name from his mentor and caretaker, Dr. Harold Winston, the colony's chief scientist, from whom he also gained his signature glasses. When the other gorillas rose up, killed the human scientists, and took over the colony, Winston escaped to Earth in a rocket he built himself. He later joined up with Overwatch, offering his scientific expertise to the team (such as building Tracer's chronal accelerator). When Overwatch disbanded, Winston went into seclusion at an old Overwatch base in Gibraltar. Winston appears in the intro cinematic, as well as the animated short ''Recall''. The short recalls how he gained his glasses from Dr. Harold Winston, as well as fending off Reaper and agents of Talon who attempt to hack his database of Overwatch agents. Winston is voiced by Crispin Freeman.Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball is theZarya
Zarya, full name Aleksandra Zaryanova, is a Russian powerlifter and soldier. She is armed with a ''Particle Cannon'' that can either emit a continuous beam of energy or launch an energy projectile in an arc. She is also able to project a personal ''Particle Barrier'' onto herself or onto one of her teammates (''Projected Barrier''), and soaking up damage with these barriers raises the power of her own attacks proportionally. Zarya's ultimate ability, ''Graviton Surge'', forms a gravity well that pulls enemies in and damages them, leaving them open to other attacks. In her fictional backstory, Aleksandra Zaryanova's village in Siberia was on the front lines of the Omnic Crisis, which devastated the region. As she grew older, she swore to gain the strength to protect her people and homeland. She became a bodybuilder and weightlifter, expected to break a number of records in the world championships, but the dormant omnium in Siberia awakened on the eve of the tournament, and she withdrew from the competition to join the local defense forces. Zarya was initially conceived of by artist Arnold Tsang after watching a weightlifting competition. He recognized that the body shape of weightlifters was non-standard but would make for a great, tough female hero. Zarya was the second ''Overwatch'' hero added to '' Heroes of the Storm''. Zarya is voiced by Dolya Gavanski.Damage heroes
Damage heroes are those that have the largest capacity to deal damage to enemy players, and tend to be able to move quickly around the map. However, they can be more vulnerable to attacks from the other team with lower hit points than other roles.Ashe
Ashe, full name Elizabeth Caledonia "Calamity" Ashe, is anBastion
Bastion is a combat robot-turned-explorer. In ''Overwatch'', it could ''Reconfigure'' between a mobile form outfitted with a submachine gun (''Configuration: Recon'') and a stationary form equipped with aCassidy
Cole Cassidy is anEcho
Echo is a female Omnic created by Dr. Mina Liao after the Omnic Crisis. Her primary attack is a ''Tri-Shot'' that is a set of three projectiles at a time, and she can fire a ''Sticky Bomb'' that does initial damage on striking a target and then after a short time explodes that does damage in a small area. She also has a ''Focusing Beam'' that damages a target in the beam, with damage intensified for targets that are below half-health, including barriers. She also has a ''Flight'' ability that can launch her into the air, and her ''Glide'' passive ability allows her to hover and descend at a controlled rate with good horizontal control. Her ultimate ability is ''Duplicate'', which allows Echo to take the appearance and ability of any Hero on the opposing team (save for Echo) for 15 seconds, with an accelerated ultimate gain rate. Dr. Liao was one of the scientists that had created the Omnics while part of the Omnica Corporation, and who had joined the newly-found Overwatch to deal with the Omnic Crisis. She had created Echo as part of the Echo Project as a more benevolent artificial intelligence to try to overcome her guilt for creating the more harmful Omnics, hoping that AI could be used to save humanity. An attack on Overwatch headquarters killed Dr. Liao. Echo took on part of Dr. Liao's personality, and thus became "her promise, her legacy, her Echo". Echo was the 32nd Hero to be introduced to ''Overwatch'' in March 2020. She started as a planned character for ''Titan'', though initially was more functional and less human-like, with her more human appearance coming about by the fourth iteration of her design. Her design had always been very light and elegant, so she was envisioned to be a support character at the start. But once they established the character's name as Echo, implying what her abilities may be including her Duplicate ultimate, this made the choice of a support role a poor one, as during the use of Duplicate her teammates would not have her normal support abilities. By making her a damage hero, this did not interfere with the team's support roles, nor overlapped extensively with Pharah, an existing flying hero who does not have as significant control over her flying movements as Echo. Prior to her announcement, Echo had also appeared in the animated short ''Reunion'', released alongside Ashe's reveal as the 29th hero. Ashe attempts to steal her while she is in a state of hibernation, but she is rescued by Cassidy. When reactivated, Cassidy informs her of Winston's recall of Overwatch agents. She was also shown in the teaser cinematic for ''Overwatch 2'', joining Winston's recall of other Overwatch members to fight new threats. At the time of the ''Overwatch 2'' reveal, Kaplan stated Blizzard planned to introduce Echo as a playable hero at some point in the future. Echo was announced on March 18, 2020, available to players on the PTR the following day, and unlocked for all players on April 14, 2020. Kaplan anticipated that Echo would be the last character to be added to ''Overwatch'' roster until the release of ''Overwatch 2''. Echo is voiced by Jeannie Bolet.Genji
Genji Shimada is a Japanese cyborg ninja. His main attack method is to throw three '' Shurikens'', either in quick succession or simultaneously in a horizontal spread. His abilities are ''Swift Strike'', a quick dashing lunge with good range, and ''Deflect'', a defensive stance that briefly ricochets projectiles back at enemies with his wakizashi. His ''Cyber-Agility'' allows him to double-jump and run up walls. Genji's ultimate ability is ''Dragonblade'', during which Genji unsheathes the odachi on his back and delivers powerful, sweeping melee attacks to any targets within reach for a limited amount of time. In his origin story, Genji transforms from a slacker to a superhero. His family—the Japanese Shimada crime family—ordered his eldest brother Hanzo to kill Genji for his selfish and hedonistic behavior (as shown in the short ''Dragons'' and referenced in-game Hanamura map by a shrine devoted to Genji). Before he could die, Overwatch found him and their chief doctor, Mercy, restored Genji as a cyborg. After quelling the rogue artificial intelligence in the first Omnic Crisis, Genji left the Overwatch team to find peace with his new body, mentored by the Omnic Shambali monk Zenyatta. When Winston reactivates Overwatch years after the first Omnic Crisis, Genji is one of the first to return. He later appeared in ''Hanamura Showdown,'' a non-canon cinematic trailer for ''Heroes of the Storm'' 2.0. Genji also appeared in the animated short ''Zero Hour,'' which functioned as announcement cinematic for '' Overwatch 2.'' Originally, Genji and his brother Hanzo were designed as one character. However, Blizzard Entertainment thought this arrow-firing, shuriken-tossing, and katana-wielding character was too complex, therefore splitting it into two different characters. Hanzo kept the name of the original character, as well as the general aesthetic of that character. The story and relationship between the two brothers were inspired by a documentary film titled ''Hanzo
Hanzo Shimada is a Japanese archer, assassin and mercenary. He wields the ''Storm Bow'' and is equipped with specialized arrows, including ''Sonic Arrows'' to detect enemies and ''Storm Arrows'' to fire five weaker shots in rapid succession. He is also able to ''Wall Climb'', enabling him to reach vantage points, and ''Lunge'' forward while in mid-air. His ultimate ability is ''Dragonstrike'', in which he unleashes a spiraling spirit dragon that can travel through obstacles to deal damage in a straight line. Hanzo is the elder brother of Genji, and the heir to the head of the Shimada clan. He was trained from an early age to take over the clan, becoming a skilled warrior and marksman, as well as a strategist. When his father died, Hanzo was directed by the clan elders to bring Genji into line; and when Genji refused, the two brothers battled, resulting in what appeared to be Genji's death. Guilty and grief-stricken, Hanzo abandoned the clan and traveled the world in an effort to restore his honor. Hanzo is the focus of the animated short ''Dragons'', where he visits his family's castle on the anniversary of his duel with Genji, leaving offerings at the castle shrine to honor Genji's memory. Originally, Hanzo had an ability called ''Scatter Arrows'', an arrow that split into multiple arrows that could ricochet off the environment and hit targets around corners. Players grew to find this ability cheap since it, if well-placed, could take out even Tank characters with a single shot. Blizzard addressed this with a rework update that replaced the ability with the above ''Storm Arrows'' and ''Lunge'' abilities, which went live in May 2018. Hanzo appears as a playable hero in '' Heroes of the Storm.'' Hanzo is voiced byJunkrat
Junkrat, real name Jamison Fawkes, is an Australian scavenger, mercenary andMei
Mei, full name Mei-Ling Zhou (), is a Chinese climatologist and adventurer from Xi'an. She wields an ''Endothermic Blaster'' that can either freeze enemies in place with a short-range spray or shoot a long-range icicle projectile, and she can also use it to ''Cryo-Freeze'' herself in a solid ice block to shield herself from damage and heal injuries, as well as erect ''Ice Walls'' with many versatile uses, primarily for blocking the enemies. Her ultimate ability is ''Blizzard'', which calls down Snowball, her personal weather modification drone, to freeze all enemies in a wide radius. Mei was employed by Overwatch to help discover the cause for the planet's changing climate, which had been variously blamed on industry, the increasing Omnic population, and increased consumption of natural resources. While deployed at an Overwatch research base in Antarctica, Mei and the other scientists there were trapped by a polar storm that damaged the facility. Lacking sufficient resources to wait for a rescue, they decided to enter cryostasis. But the pods malfunctioned, and Mei was the only survivor when she was found close to a decade later; by that time, Overwatch had disbanded, and all of the bases set up to monitor the climate crisis had stopped functioning. Mei elected to carry on the work alone, accompanied by Snowball. As she restores the base's communication system, she hears Winston's recall for Overwatch, and sets off with Snowball to make her way back to society, joining Winston and Tracer on the first mission to fight the Null Sector off in Paris. Mei is the focus of the animated short ''Rise and Shine'', showing the moments after she awakened from cryostasis and had to find a way to call for help. She was added as a playable hero in '' Heroes of the Storm'' in June 2020. Mei is voiced by Yu "Elise" Zhang.Pharah
Pharah, real name Fareeha Amari (), is an Egyptian security officer. She wears the Raptora Mark VI, a jetpack-equipped combat suit, and wields a ''Reaper
Reaper, real name Gabriel Reyes, is anSoldier: 76
Soldier: 76, real name Jack Francis Morrison, is anSombra
Sombra, real name Olivia Colomar, is a Mexicans, Mexican hacker and infiltrator. She is equipped with a low-damage, high-capacity ''Machine pistol, Machine Pistol'' for short range combat. Her trademark ability allows her to ''Hack'' enemies, turrets or neutral health kits. Hacked enemies cannot use their abilities, hacked turrets are disabled, and hacked health kits respawn faster and become unusable to the enemy team. Sombra also has ''Thermoptic Camo'' that gives her invisibility paired with a speed boost, and can throw down a ''Translocator'' beacon that she can later teleport to. Her passive ability, ''Opportunist'', enables her to track enemies that are low on health, even through walls. Sombra's ultimate ability is ''Electromagnetic pulse, EMP'', an electromagnetic shockwave that hacks all enemies around her, as well as disabling their barriers and shields and displaying if they have fully charged ultimates. In the ''Overwatch'' narrative, Sombra had been orphaned at an early age but quickly discovered her natural gift for hacking. She initially used it as part of the Los Muertos gang that fought against a corrupt Mexican government. Over the years her hacking expanded to other global corporations and powers, managing to keep her identity secret. She was eventually discovered by a mysterious organization that forced her into hiding, destroying all records of her existence. She augmented her body with cybernetic attachments to help her hack, and joined the criminal organization Talon to discover the identity of the organization that uncovered her. Sombra was introduced into ''Overwatch'' through alternate reality game (ARG) starting as early as the game's open beta, as to give "an idea of who she is and a little bit of her personality before we even unveiled her", according to Blizzard's lead hero designer Geoff Goodman. Sombra is the focus of the animated short ''Infiltration'', where she infiltrates the Volskaya Industries complex alongside Reaper and Widowmaker to assassinate the head executive. Sombra is voiced by Carolina Ravassa.Sojourn
Sojourn, real name Vivian Chase, is an Black Canadians, Afro-Canadian soldier who serves as a captain within the Overwatch team. She has cybernetic implants in her head, as well as a cybernetic arm that transforms into a rail gun. Her primary weapon is a machine gun that build up energy over time, which then can be unleashed as a railgun shot through its secondary fire. She can launch an area-of-effect ''Disruptor Shot'' that traps and drains enemies while building her railgun energy. She can perform a ''Power Slide'' that can be used to finish into a high jump. Her Ultimate is ''Overclock'' which continually recharges her railgun and makes its shots piercing. Prior to her introduction as a hero to arrive with ''Overwatch 2'', she had only been seen through communication channels within the game, specifically serving as the mission commander for the "Storm Rising" co-operative event, or in the animated media, such as the short ''Recall''. According to Kaplan, Sojourn had been a character in development for the game since ''Overwatch''s inception around the same time as Wrecking Ball, around 2014, but did not say at the time whether she will be released as a playable character. According to lead hero designer Geoff Goodman, one difficulty they had in tuning Sojourn's kit was her railgun, as effectively it was similar in capabilities to Widowmaker's sniper rifle but without the cooldown making it overpowered, and eventually found a means to balance these factors. Sojourn was introduced as a playable hero with the first public beta of ''Overwatch 2'' in April 2022. According to lore, Sojourn had worked with Overwatch commander Jack Morrison during the Omnic War, which led to her joining with Overwatch, where she either commanded agents or provided long-range cover for field teams. Sojourn is voiced by Cherise Boothe.Symmetra
Symmetra, real name Satya Vaswani, is an Indian people, Indian architect. She wields a ''Photon Projector'' that emits a short-ranged beam that does more damage the longer it remains on an opponent. Her primary fire will charge her ammo instead of using it, making her a good counter to barriers. It can also be used to charge up and launch a slow-moving ball of energy in a straight line. She can fire up to three ''Sentry Turrets'' that attach to any surface they touch, and which damage opponents in close range. She has a ''Teleporter'' skill that allows her to place the entrance and exits points of a warp tunnel that has an infinite duration, through which teammates and certain projectiles and weapons can travel through, until the teleporter is recalled by Symmetra or destroyed by an enemy. Her ultimate ability is a ''Photon Barrier'', a powerful energy barrier that blocks opponents' fire, and large enough to cut through the entire map. The Vishkar Corporation, based in southern India, created hard light technology that allowed it to build cities, and trained its elite "architechs" - equal parts architect and engineer - to bend the hard light into any shape needed for that purpose; with this technology, they built the city of Utopaea to serve as their base. Satya Vaswani's potential was discovered at a young age, and she was taken from a life of poverty to train at Vishkar's architect academy in Utopaea. Becoming one of the top students in her class, she combined the light-bending technology with the traditional dances of her homeland. Given the name "Symmetra", Vishkar dispatched her on clandestine missions around the world to oversee their corporate interests. Kaplan also stated that Symmetra was on the autistic spectrum. Symmetra initially was defined as a support character, and was one of the more infrequently-selected characters across all game modes during the game's first two years, due to her not being considered a fun character to play and maintaining her support abilities was considered "chore-like". Blizzard has been working to revitalize the character since launch, revamping her skill kit twice in December 2016 and later in July 2018 to make her more amenable for players. Prior abilities, since removed, include the ability to give each player individual shields as well as a ranged shield projector that served as her ultimate, and a teleporter ultimate that would appear between her current position and the current spawn room for her team allowing players to quickly return to battle. Her ''Photon Projector'' also used to automatically lock onto opponents and its alternative fire used to travel through barriers and players. The July 2018 rework moved Symmetra from a support to a damage hero, better reflecting her intended function in a team composition according to Blizzard. Symmetra is voiced by Anjali Bhimani.Torbjörn
Torbjörn Lindholm is a dwarfish Swedes, Swedish engineer and weapons designer, and a founding member of Overwatch. His armor comes equipped with a mobile forge, and he carries a ''Rivet Gun'' that shoots molten slag and a ''Forge Hammer'' for construction and melee attacks. His ''Deploy Turret'' allows him to toss a turret a short distance away, which will then self-deploy before targeting and firing on any opponent in its sights. His ''Overload'' ability briefly increases his armor, and improves his speed and attack attributes for a short amount of time. His ultimate ability ''Molten Core'' allows him to shoot several globs of molten metal on the ground, which damages any opponent that stands in it. Torbjörn believes that technology should serve a better vision for humanity, putting him at odds with his employers, who wanted to control the weapons with artificial intelligence. His deep-seated fear of sentient machines, dismissed at first as paranoia, became reality during the Omnic Crisis, during which he was recruited by Overwatch. His engineering knowledge proved invaluable to achieving Overwatch's aim of ending the Omnic Crisis. After Overwatch was disbanded, his weapons were stolen or stashed away, and Torbjörn has set out to ensure they are not used to harm the innocent. While Torbjörn was not the first character created for ''Overwatch'', his design, meant to bridge between ''Warcraft'' and ''Overwatch'', became the baseline for nearly all other asset design for the game. At launch, Torbjörn would have to place a turret and then hammer on it to bring it up to a higher level, while his ultimate ''Molten Core'' would be used to give him a burst of energy and speed as well as briefly upgrading the turret to its highest value. Torbjörn could also collect scrap left by fallen players, when he then could use to make armor pickups for his allies. Lead game designer Geoff Goodman called Torbjörn a "little overly defensive focused", and wanted to make the hero more capable on offense in non-payload map. These new updates were added in an October 2018 patch. Torbjörn is voiced by Keith Silverstein.Tracer
Tracer, real name Lena Oxton, is a British people, British pilot and adventurer. She wields dual rapid-fire ''Pulse Pistols'', and is equipped with a "chronal accelerator" which grants her the ability to either jump forward in time, crossing many meters in a split second (''Blink'') or rewind three seconds into the past to heal and restore ammunition (''Recall''). Her ultimate ability is ''Pulse Bomb'', an explosive charge that sticks to enemies, exploding after a brief delay for massive damage. Born in London following the events of the Omnic Crisis, Lena Oxton became the youngest test pilot in Overwatch's experimental flight program, and was tapped to test the "Slipstream", a fighter jet that used teleportation technology. During the test flight, a malfunction caused the craft to vanish and Tracer along with it. She was presumed dead. However, she reappeared months later, though now with a condition preventing her from maintaining a physical form and which caused her to vanish for hours or even days at a time. It was discovered that the accident desynchronized her molecules from time itself, a condition eventually called "chronal disassociation." The enhanced gorilla scientist Winston invented the chronal accelerator to re-synchronize her with the normal flow of time. Tracer was the first Hero developed for the game and used to test the gameplay mechanics. Tracer features in the cinematic trailer, teamed with Winston as she tries to stop Widowmaker and Reaper from taking Doomfist's gauntlet. She also appears in the cinematic short ''Alive'', as she unsuccessfully tries to stop Widowmaker from assassinating the omnic monk Tekhartha Mondatta in London. Tracer is featured on the game's cover art, and is a playable hero in '' Heroes of the Storm''. It was revealed in an ''Overwatch'' comic that she identifies as a lesbian. Tracer is voiced by Cara Theobold.Widowmaker
Widowmaker, real name Amélie Lacroix, is a French people, French sniper and assassin. She wields the ''Widow's Kiss'', a versatile rifle that fires in full automatic at close-range, and can convert into a sniper rifle for long-range kills. She also uses a ''Grappling Hook'' to reach high ledges and ''Venom Mines'' to disable enemies. Her ultimate ability is ''Infra-Sight'', which activates her recon visor to highlight all enemies through walls for her and her team, similar to a Cheating in online games#World-hacking, wallhack. Amélie was a ballet dancer and was the wife of Gérard Lacroix, an Overwatch agent heading operations against the terrorist organization known as Talon. When their assassins were unable to get close to Lacroix, they kidnapped Amélie and reprogrammed her as a sleeper agent. She was found and returned home by Overwatch agents, unaware of what had happened; two weeks later, she killed her husband in his sleep. Returning to Talon, she underwent extensive training in the covert arts, and her physiology was altered to slow her heart, turning her skin blue. Her emotional responses numbed by the conditioning, she feels little more than the satisfaction of the kill. Widowmaker appears in the intro cinematic, teamed with Reaper to steal Doomfist's gauntlet from the Overwatch Museum; a boy visiting the museum uses it against her. She is also featured in the animated short ''Alive'', on a mission to assassinate the omnic monk Tekhartha Mondatta, an advocate for peaceful human-omnic relations. Widowmaker was the most popular defense character during the game's open beta. Widowmaker is voiced by Chloé Hollings.Support heroes
Support heroes typically lack any significant offensive abilities and instead provide support for their teammates, most often in the form of healing or other buffs. They may also be able to apply debuffs to the opposing team, making them more prone to attack. Support heroes tend to have the fewest hit points but also can self-regenerate their health at times.Ana
Ana Amari () is an Egyptian sniper and bounty hunter, and one of the founding members of Overwatch. She wields a ''Biotic Rifle'' loaded with smart darts that damage enemies and heal allies, as well as Tranquillizer gun, a sidearm that fires ''Sleep Darts''. She also carries ''Biotic Grenades'' that disable enemy healing and boost ally healing. Her ultimate ability is ''Nano Boost'', which grants an attack and defense boost to a teammate hero. Hailing from Cairo, Ana Amari was considered the best sniper in the world, and rushed in to support the unprepared Egyptian defense forces during the Omnic Crisis. Her marksmanship and her critical decision-making skills led to her being recruited by Overwatch, and she served for many years as Jack Morrison's second-in-command during the conflict, while trying to be a mother to her daughter, Fareeha. Even with her command responsibility, Ana refused to give up going on combat missions. Remaining in service well into her fifties, Ana was believed to have been killed by Widowmaker during a hostage rescue; when Ana hesitated to make the kill shot, realizing that her target had in fact been her friend Amélie Lacroix, Widowmaker shot her through her rifle's lens, destroying her right eye, then proceeded to kill the hostages. Though Ana survived, Overwatch soon disbanded. Initially choosing to remain out of combat as the world became embroiled in conflict, Ana realized she could not remain on the sidelines, and has rejoined the battle to protect her homeland. Ana had already been part of the narrative of ''Overwatch'' from the creation of the Pharah character, according to Blizzard's lead writer Michael Chu; they wanted Pharah's parents to be important characters of the Overwatch group that would influence Pharah, and Ana had been established as a sniper in Pharah's story. When they started brainstorming new playable heroes, the idea of an alchemy, alchemist was raised, leading to the concept of a "skill-based support healer", according to Chu. This led to them to consider making Ana this new playable character, as these support sniper skills would contrast well against those of the already-established character of Widowmaker. Ana was the first character to be added to ''Overwatch'' following its launch; she was announced and available to play on the Public Test regions on July 12, 2016, and was playable by all PC and console players on July 19, 2016. In January 2019, Blizzard published a short story "Bastet" that focused on Ana and her relationship with Soldier: 76. The story was written by Michael Chu and illustrated by Arnold Tsang. Alongside this, Blizzard ran the first of a mini-event, a two-week long "Ana's Bastet Challenge" that awarded players that won a number of games across any mode, or watched designated Twitch streams with cosmetics related to this story. Ana appears as a playable hero in '' Heroes of the Storm.'' Ana is voiced by Aysha Selim.Baptiste
Baptiste, full name Jean-Baptiste Augustin, is a Haitians, Haitian combat medic and former operative of Talon. His main weapon is a ''Medic SMG'', a submachine gun alongside a secondary ''Biotic Launcher'' that fires projectiles that heal allies in their area of effect. As a passive ability, Baptiste's ''Exo Boots'' allow him to jump higher after crouching. His active abilities includes a ''Regenerative Burst'' that heals himself and nearby allies over a short period of time, and an ''Immortality Field'' device that prevents teammates from dying while in range, but the device itself can be destroyed prematurely. His ultimate is an ''Amplification Matrix'' that increases damage and healing effects of allies' shots that pass through it. Originally from Tortuga (Haiti), Tortuga, Baptiste was among the thirty million children orphaned by the Omnic Crisis. He enlisted in the military of the Caribbean Coalition, an alliance of island nations united by the crisis, as a combat medic, driven by his desire to help others; he would eventually rise to become part of the Coalition's special ops division. After the end of the war, Baptiste struggled to find work until he was recruited by Talon, one of a number of mercenary groups that arose in the aftermath of the crisis. At first, he thrived within Talon, which gave him easy assignments that paid well enough for him to establish a clinic in his hometown. As time went on, however, the missions his unit was sent on became increasingly violent, including assassinations of rivals and operations that involved civilian casualties. Disgusted, Baptiste abandoned Talon and set out to wander the world, offering his aid where he could. Realizing that Baptiste knew too much about their operations, Talon regularly sent assassins, including members of his former unit, to silence him, without success; those few who were able to locate him were never seen again. After approximately a week of teases through their social media sites, Blizzard formally introduced Baptiste as the game's 30th hero with an origin story video on February 25, 2019, and was added to the PTR the following day. Baptiste was made live for all servers on March 19, 2019. In June 2019, Blizzard released "What You Left Behind" a short story about Baptiste's background written by Alissa Wong and illustrated by Arnold Tsang. Alongside the story, Blizzard ran a mini 2-week "Reunion" event that allowed players to earn skins and other cosmetics related to the story by winning matches across any mode and watching specific Twitch streams. Baptiste is voiced by Benz Antoine. Antoine had gotten the role in part for his ability to speak Haitian Creole, Creole with a French accent.Brigitte
Brigitte Lindholm is a Swedes, Swedish engineer and adventurer, who wears powered armor similar to Reinhardt. She wields a ''Rocket Flail (weapon), Flail'' that allows her to strike several enemies in close range, and can be thrown in a ''Whip Shot'' to hit distant targets and knock them back. She has the ability to engage a ''Barrier Shield'' to protect herself and others behind it from damage for a limited time, and when it is active, she can charge a short distance forward in a ''Shield Bash'', stunning the first enemy she hits. She is also able to throw ''Repair Packs'' that can help heal other allies. Her Ultimate ability is ''Rally'' that allows her to move faster, and provide nearby allies with additional armor while the ability is active. Brigitte is the youngest daughter of Torbjörn Lindholm, Overwatch's former chief engineer. She was named by her godfather Reinhardt Wilhelm, to whom Torbjörn and his pregnant wife Ingrid were indebted to after Reinhardt saved his life during "Operation White Dome" in Istanbul. As such, Brigitte became close friends with Reinhardt, and grew up on his tales of heroes and chivalry. While Torbjörn was more interested in creating weapons, Brigitte's aptitudes were for creating armor and defensive systems. After the fall of Overwatch, Reinhardt elected to travel the world as something of a knight-errant, and Brigitte, to his surprise, asked him if she could accompany him as his squire, to which he agreed. Her job included maintaining Reinhardt's Crusader armor, to which she was well-suited as it was based on a design created by her father, but as time went on, she was often required to take care of Reinhardt himself, who maintained an overenthusiasm for combat in spite of his increasing age and frailty. Eventually she decided that just maintaining Reinhardt's armor was not enough, and had Reinhardt train her in combat while she created her own suit of armor in secret, so that she could fight alongside him. She accompanies Reinhardt to answer Winston's Overwatch recall. She appears in the digital comics ''Dragon Slayer'' and ''Reflections''. She also appears in the animated short ''Honor and Glory'', where she protests Reinhardt rejoining Overwatch, only for him to explain why he must go back. After about a week of teasing her announcement, Brigitte was confirmed to be the 27th Hero on February 28, 2018, and was made available to try on the PTR the same day. Brigitte was released for play on all servers on March 20, 2018. Kaplan described Brigitte as an "interesting hybrid character", as while she is classified as support, she has many similarities to a tank character. She combines certain elements of Reinhardt (armor and shield) and Torbjörn (providing armor to her allies); as her chosen weapon is a flail, she also bears some similarities to the Crusader class in ''Diablo III''. Brigitte's reveal brought a return of a joking comparison between ''Overwatch'' and ''Paladins (video game), Paladins'' by Hi-Rez Studios, a game that also used pre-determine hero characters which had earlier been accused by players of copying the style of ''Overwatch'' though ultimately dropped; Hi-Rez's Stewart Chisam pointed out on social media how Brigitte appeared similar in looks and abilities to their character Ash, released in mid-2017. Brigitte is voiced by Matilda Smedius.Kiriko
Kiriko Kamori is a Japanese ninja who was trained by her mother alongside the Shimada brothers, Genji and Hanzo. Her primary tools are ''Healing Ofuda'', paper projectiles imbued with healing powers that can home in on allies in line of sight. Her secondary tools are fast, low-damage ''Kunai'' knife projectiles that do increased damage if they land a critical hit. She can also ''Wall Climb'' as Genji and Hanzo do. She is able to ''Swift Step'' and teleport to an ally even through walls, and cast a ''Protection Suzu (bell), Suzu'' to grant allies within range a debuff cleanse and temporary invulnerability. Her Ultimate ability is the ''Kitsune Rush'', which creates a fox spirit that runs through torii gates. Allies near this path will gain improved ground speed and buffs to attack, reload, and cooldown speeds. Kiriko’s grandmother taught her to worship the fox spirit, which helped shape her fighting style. Her mother, Asa Yamagami, trained both Kiriko and the Shimada brothers in the way of the sword. As a result, Kiriko grew up and learned alongside Genji and Hanzo. She was also considered a “cute little niece figure” and a close family friend to the Shimada brothers. Her father, Toshiro Yamagami, was abducted by the Hashimoto clan years prior and forced to produce weapons for them. The Hashimoto took over Kanezaka following the fall of the Shimada and caused suffering among the populace. In response, Kiriko joins the vigilante group, Yokai, and currently fights to protect her home from the Hashimoto and other threats. Kiriko was the first hero to be introduced following ''Overwatch 2'' launch in October 2022, and the first to be made available as a free reward on a seasonal battle pass. Her design was based on the new 5 vs. 5 approach used in ''Overwatch 2''. Kiriko is voiced by Sally Amaki.Lúcio
Lúcio Correia dos Santos is a Brazilians, Brazilian Disc jockey, DJ and freedom fighter. He is equipped with futuristic Rollerblade, roller blades that allow him to skate on walls, (''Wall Ride'') which gives him large speed boosts when jumping off said walls. He is also armed with a ''Sonic Amplifier'' gun that can damage enemies in bursts of four. He can also use his Sonic Amplifier to knock enemies back with the ability ''Soundwave'' (Commonly called a ''Boop''). He can use music to either heal his teammates or increase their movement speed (''Crossfade''), and can amplify his music to boost the effects (''Amp It Up''). His ultimate ability, ''Sound Barrier'', grants powerful temporary shielding to himself and nearby allies. Jeff Kaplan stated that Lucio was based on the tabletop role-playing game archetype of Bard (Dungeons & Dragons), bards who are able to cast ability-boosting auras on their party. Lúcio Correia dos Santos grew up in Rio de Janeiro during the financial upheaval caused by the Omnic Crisis. He turned to music to lift up the spirits of his disheartened people by performing on street corners and at block parties. When the Vishkar Corporation, a multinational conglomerate, moved in to redevelop Rio, they began to crack down on its citizens with curfews and exploit them as cheap labor. Lúcio stole a Vishkar sonic weapon and used it against them, thus rallying the people to rise up and drive Vishkar out of their neighborhoods. His leadership made him a global celebrity, and he began to perform in filled arenas worldwide. Blizzard announced in February 2017 that Lúcio would be added as a hero character to '' Heroes of the Storm'' and would possess similar healing and support capabilities in that game. Blizzard also distributed "Lúcio-Ohs" breakfast cereal through Kellogg's in early 2019, inspired by one of Lúcio's in-game sprays. Lúcio is voiced by Jonny Cruz.Mercy
Mercy, real name Angela Ziegler, is a Swiss people, Swiss field medic and first responder. She wears a winged Valkyrie suit, which allows her to rush towards targeted teammates through the air (''Guardian Angel''), as well as slow her own descent while falling (''Angelic Descent''). She wields a ''Caduceus Staff'' that alternately heals her teammates or boosts their damage output, and also carries a medium-range ''Caduceus Blaster'' as a sidearm. Her ''Resurrect'' ability allows her to revive one fallen ally. Her ultimate ability is ''Valkyrie'', which boosts her healing and attack boosts, firing rate, and Resurrect cooldown; gives her the ability to fly; and gives her infinite ammunition for a brief period. Angela Ziegler was head of surgery at a Swiss hospital when she developed specialized applied Nanobiotechnology, nanobiology to heal injuries. Her work earned her the attention of Overwatch, who recruited her as their chief medical researcher. The Valkyrie suit she wears was her own design. Though opposed to Overwatch's militaristic approach as a result of losing her parents to war, she knew that their resources allowed her to save lives on a global scale. When Overwatch disbanded, she dedicated herself to helping those who were affected by decades of global war. Mercy was the most popular support character during the game's open beta. Like Symmetra, Mercy saw a major redesign in a September 2017 update, as her initial ultimate ability, ''Resurrect'', which could be used to bring all downed players in a small radius back to full health, encouraged Mercy players to stay out of battle. Mercy is voiced by Lucie Pohl.Moira
Moira O'Deorain is an Irish people, Irish geneticist, a leading member of Talon, and Minister of Genetics for the city of Oasis. Her main weapon is the ''Biotic Grasp'', which drains the health and biotic energy of enemies; this biotic energy can then be sprayed out in a cone to heal her allies. Her skills include ''Fade'', allowing her to teleport a short distance, and ''Biotic Orb'', a rebounding sphere that can either heal nearby allies or damage nearby enemies. Her ultimate ability is ''Coalescence'', a beam that heals all allies and injures all opponents it passes, bypassing any barriers that may be in place. Originally from Dublin, Moira O'Deorain made waves in the scientific community more than a decade prior to the game, after publishing a controversial paper detailing a methodology for creating custom genetic programs that could alter DNA at a cellular level. Most scientists found her research dangerous due to its perceived ethical shortfalls, with some even going so far as to accuse her of having the same obsession with scientific advancement that started the Omnic Crisis. Adding to the controversy, other geneticists were unable to reproduce the results of her research. With her career stalled, Moira received a lifeline from an unlikely source: Blackwatch, the covert ops division of Overwatch under the command of Gabriel Reyes. Her involvement with Blackwatch was kept a secret until inquiries following an incident in Venice (played out in the story-based game mode "Retribution") revealed her work, forcing Overwatch to publicly disavow any ties to her or her work. After Overwatch disbanded, Moira was employed by the Ministries, the scientific collective that founded the city of Oasis in southern Iraq, as the head of the Ministry of Genetics. She was also financed by Talon, and (along with Doomfist and Reaper) is among the members of its ruling council who appear in the game. Her origin story video reveals that she is responsible for transforming Gabriel Reyes into Reaper. She had made an appearance in Doomfist's introductory comic, released earlier in 2017. Moira was announced at BlizzCon 2017 as the game's 26th hero on November 3, 2017, and was made available to play on the Public Test Region a few days later. Moira was added for all players in all regions on November 16, 2017. Kaplan said that Moira had been in the works for months well prior to this, having anticipated that the ''Overwatch'' player base had been asking for another healer character. Kaplan believed that Moira's fit as a healer depended on team compositions where teammates stay in close proximity to each other, but that her abilities could help support those that tend to separate from the group, like Genji. Art-wise, she was envisioned by Arnold Tsang to be a warlock- or Magician (fantasy), mage-like character, with robes, sleeves and hand motions that evoked the use of magic. This subsequently created some difficulty with her character animations, specifically her sleeves; while the artists had previously animated long flowing clothes for Reaper, animating sleeves with Moira's complex hand movements took several months. This particularly was true for her Legendary skins, which animator Hak Lee said took between three and five months to properly animate. Moira's animations in game were found by some journalists to be close references to various anime, such as her running animation being similar to that of Naruto Uzumaki from the anime ''Naruto''. Chu acknowledged that many members of Blizzard's animation team are anime fans and some references had filtered into characters and customization items, and for Moira, the anime-like touches helped to make her character visually distinctive during fast-paced battles. Moira is voiced by Genevieve O'Reilly, an Irish voice actress that Chu said was perfect for the role.Zenyatta
Tekhartha Zenyatta is an omnic monk and wanderer. Rather than moving on foot, he floats above the ground in a meditative pose. He is surrounded by a circle of 8 floating metal orbs named the ''Orbs of Destruction'' (resembling prayer beads), which he can use to launch a form of energy to damage foes either one at a time or through a charged-shot. He can also cast these orbs onto teammates as ''Orbs of Harmony'' to regenerate health, or onto enemies as ''Orbs of Discord'' to lower their defenses. His ultimate ability is ''Transcendence'', which makes him temporarily invulnerable and applies massive regenerative effects to his allies in a large radius around him. Zenyatta belonged to the Shambali, an order of omnic monks that had settled in a monastery deep within the Himalayas in northern Nepal, after experiencing a "spiritual awakening" that led them to believe that, like humans, omnics also possessed a soul. Their leader, Tekhartha Mondatta, sought to heal the rift between humans and omnics and bring them into societal harmony through peaceful public rallies, one of which resulted in Mondatta's assassination by Widowmaker in London. Zenyatta disagreed with this approach, believing that only directly engaging humans and connecting with them person-to-person would bridge the divide between man and machine. He left the Shambali monastery and wandered the world, seeking to help those he met to find inner peace, including cyborg warrior Genji. He aided Genji in becoming more relaxed and understanding the purpose of his metallic body. Zenyatta is voiced by Feodor Chin.Non-playable characters
The following are characters who appear in other ''Overwatch'' media.Antonio Bartalotti
Antonio Bartalotti was an Italian people, Italian businessman and member of Talon who orchestrated a terrorist attack on Overwatch's headquarters in Oslo, Norway, in the comic "Retribution". He was killed by Gabriel Reyes during the events of the story-based game mode of the same name.Athena
Athena is Winston's personal artificial intelligence, who supervises his vitals and keeps track of all former Overwatch agents. Together, she and Winston were able to activate the Recall that contacted all the agents at the beginning of the Second Omnic Crisis, which initiates the events of the game. She also serves as the in-game announcer. Athena is voiced by Evelyn Duah.Balderich von Adler
Colonel Balderich von Adler was the commander of the Crusaders, a German paramilitary unit composed of armored warriors with rocket hammers and hard-light shields that served as support to the Bundeswehr, the regular German military. Balderich was approached by Overwatch to become one of its founding members during the Omnic Crisis, but was forced to lead a defense against an army of Bastions in his home village of Eichenwalde, in the Black Forest nearDae-hyun
Dae-hyun is a MEKA mechanic assigned to #D.Va, D.Va and a childhood friend of hers. He and D.Va have been working together in the MEKA unit. He was introduced in August 2018 in the animated short ''Shooting Star'', in which he helps D.Va defend Busan from the recurring omnic threat known locally as gwishin. Dae-hyun is voiced by Johnny Young.Efi Oladele
Efi Oladele is an 11-year-old scientist and inventor from the in-universe region of Numbani. After her parents gave her a robotic kit, she became interested in robotics and artificial intelligence. She witnessed Doomfist's attack on Numbani, which damaged several OR15 defensive Omnics, and was inspired to use her skills to create Orisa from one of the damaged units. The introduction of Orisa as a playable character in February 2017 was preceded by biographical introductions to Efi on the various ''Overwatch'' social media sites.Emily
Emily is Tracer's girlfriend. She is an English woman living in London, with whom Tracer and Winston spent the holidays. She first appears in the comic "Reflections", where Tracer shops for her Christmas present. It is unknown how long she and Tracer have been dating, but Winston does consider her family. The introduction of Emily was lauded by critics and the LGBT community for confirming Tracer as the game's first LGBT character.Hal-Fred Glitchbot
Hal-Fred Glitchbot is a famous omnic film director, known for his works such as ''They Came From Beyond the Moon''. As an omnic, he receives much prejudice from society, including being the recipient of assassination attempts. On the map Hollywood, the offensive team must escort his limousine to his trailer, while the defense must stop them. He is known for hurling insults at the players, which vary depending on which characters are being played. His name is a play on famous real-world director Alfred Hitchcock, and the computer HAL 9000 from the 1968 film ''2001: A Space Odyssey (film), 2001: A Space Odyssey''. Hal-Fred Glitchbot is voiced by Travis Willingham.Dr. Harold Winston
Dr. Harold Winston was the chief scientist of the Horizon Lunar Colony, a research base on the Moon where a group of genetically engineered gorillas and primates resided to test the long-term effects of living in space. Harold took a special interest in one young gorilla who showed a great curiosity for the world around him, beginning with stealing Harold's glasses because he thought there would be more to see. Showing the young gorilla a view of Earth, Harold gave him a piece of advice he remembered years later: "Never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it ''could'' be." When the other gorillas on the moon base rebelled, Harold and the other human scientists were killed; his prodigy took his name "Winston" to honor his fallen mentor, and escaped to Earth in a scratch-built rocket. Winston also kept Harold's glasses, as well as a photograph of the two of them at the Horizon colony. Dr. Harold Winston is voiced by Greg Chun.Katya Volskaya
Katya Volskaya is the CEO and head of the Volskaya Industries, a robotic company with the purpose of ending the lives of the Omnic. Volskaya was first seen in the animated short ''Infiltration'' where she was subject to an assassination by Sombra, Reaper and Widowmaker. However, Sombra hacks the alarms and puts the events into motion that ensures her safety. It is then revealed by Sombra, when she confronts Volskaya, that she has information that the technology she uses in her mechs was actually Omnic to start. Sombra blackmails Katya and in return, she is kept alive. In the final scene, Volskaya hires Zarya to hunt down and kill Sombra. Katya Volskaya is voiced by Gulmira Mamedova.Mauga
Mauga is a close companion of Baptiste, introduced in Baptiste's origin story "What You Left Behind". A giant of a man, Mauga befriended Baptiste in his early days in the Talon organization. Baptiste, in turn, became one of the few people to be able to try to calm Mauga's wild tendencies. While Mauga thrived within Talon, Baptiste soon grew distant from it and left. In the years that followed, the two still met once in a while on questionable terms but treating each other as old friends. Mauga was intended to be Hero 31, but according to Kaplan, as they developed the skill kit for this character, they found it didn't fit the personality that they had established for Mauga in the media. Kaplan states they still plan to introduce Mauga as a hero character in the future. Instead, they designed a new character, Sigma, to use that developed kit.Maximilien
Maximilien is a wealthy omnic and a member of Talon's inner council, who handles the organization's finances. He first appears in the comic "Masquerade", where he is seen operating a casino in Monaco. In the story-based game mode "Storm Rising" he is captured by Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy after a pursuit in Havana, Cuba. Maximilien is voiced by Stéphane Cornicard.MEKA
MEKA, the Mobile Exo-Force of the Republic of Korea Army, Korean Army, is a Busan-based squad of mecha pilots, including D.Va, that protect Korea and nearby states from regular attacks by an omnic colossus known locally as the gwishin. MEKA's pilots were drawn from pro-esports and other similarly skilled areas, such as auto racing, after the gwishin disrupted the ability to use Unmanned aerial vehicle, drone mechs. The MEKA squad is overseen by Captain Myung (voiced by Cathy Shim in-game, on Busan), and besides D.Va, includes pilots Kyung-soo "King" Han, Yuna "D.mon" Lee, Seung-hwa "Overlord" Si, and Jae-Eun "Casino" Gwon. D.Va herself is supported by #Dae-hyun, Dae-hyun, a childhood friend and mechanic. While MEKA was discussed in prior ''Overwatch'' media, more details of the squad were revealed as part of the August 2018 release of ''Shooting Star'', an animation short focused on D.Va, and the release of the Busan map that incorporates more of the MEKA lore.Mina Liao
Dr. Mina Liao is one of the scientists at the Omnica Corporation that created the Omnics, and upon Omnic Crisis, was invited to join Overwatch to fight them as a founding member, along with Jack Morrison, Gabriel Reyes, Ana Amari, Torbjörn Lindholm, and Reinhardt Wilhelm. During her time at Overwatch, she created the Omnic Echo as a benevolent artificial intelligence hoping that it would help save humanity. She was killed during an attack on Overwatch headquarters, and Echo took her personality as part of her legacy.Pachimari
Pachimari are toys that appear through various ''Overwatch'' maps, customization items, and additional media. They are anime-like creatures shaped like an upside-down onion with cephalopod-type legs. Blizzard created the Pachimaris as they needed toys to populate Claw crane, UFO catchers on the Hanamura map. Their design was created by concept artist David Kang, who named them Pachimari after the Korean word for "onion". Blizzard did not expect there to be much interest in Pachimari, but there was a great deal of fan attention in the characters, with unlicensed plush toys, clothing, and other merchandise made by fans. Seeing this, Blizzard incorporated additional Pachimari into the game and its media, including placing a "King Pachimari" atop the payload for the Junkertown map, and licensed official plush toys for purchase. Since then, Blizzard has stated there is lore behind Pachimari that they are waiting to introduce.Tekhartha Mondatta
Tekhartha Mondatta was an omnic monk and leader of the Shambali. In the years following the Omnic Crisis, Mondatta and a group of other omnics abandoned their pre-programmed lives and settled in a communal monastery in Nepal, where they meditated on the nature of existence and came to believe that they were more than just "artificial"—they possessed their own souls, just as humans did. Mondatta was a leader in advocating peace between humans and omnics and healing the wounds following the Omnic Crisis, and traveled the world spreading his message. Mondatta was assassinated by Widowmaker during a rally in London, despite heavy security and the efforts of Tracer. In the King's Row map, a statue of him holding the hand of a human child stands near the spot where he was killed. Mondatta and Zenyatta take their names from ''Zenyatta Mondatta'', a 1980 album by English rock band The Police. Tekharha Mondatta is voiced by Sendhil Ramamurthy.Notes
References
External links
* {{Overwatch Lists of Blizzard characters, Overwatch Overwatch characters, Fictional soldiers in video games Overwatch