Overwatch

Mercy’s Redesign Shows The Tug Of War Between Casual And Competitive Overwatch

In the past month, the healer Mercy in Overwatch has experienced an unprecedented boom in popularity across all competitive levels, especially in the highest tiers. The big spike in Mercy usage coincides with a massive overhaul of her abilities, courtesy of a patch implemented on September 19. These huge changes have sparked debate in the…

What Destiny 2 and Overwatch Animations Tell Us About Their Characters

Even if we can’t see out character’s face and body, animation tells us a lot about characters in first person games. Heather takes a look in this critical video. Transcript: I was playing Destiny 2 and running public events for my weekly. After a while, I decided to punch every enemy I came across and…

Everyone Has A Crush On This Concept Art For Overwatch‘s Mercy

Overwatch fandom can’t stop talking about, and drawing, this radically different Mercy concept art. Over the weekend, at the Overwatch exhibit in Gallery Nucleus in Portland, Oregon, Blizzard had copies of their upcoming Overwatch artbook. An enterprising fan, twitter user Adulture, took a few pictures of the concept art for the game from the book.…

Puerto Rican Overwatch Player Isn’t Letting Hurricane Irma Derail His Career

It was the day after hurricane Irma had hit Puerto Rico, and Luis Galarza Figueroa was left without options. Walking outside of his family’s home in Barceloneta after the storm subsided, he could see trees and cables on the ground. The power, something Figueora needed for many things including his burgeoning competitive gaming career, was…

Loot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit Us

The influx of randomized loot boxes into games like Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront II has kicked off a discussion about their inclusion in games. Discussions of multiplayer imbalance and blocked off game content ignore an important truth: loot boxes are an ethical problem. They exist largely to exploit players and create addicts.…

In China, Blizzard Is Suing Over Alleged Overwatch Rip Off

If you think mobile game Heroes of Warfare looks like Overwatch, you’re not alone. So does Blizzard China and NetEase, Overwatch’s Chinese operator, which is why they’re taking it to court. If you’ve never seen Heroes of Warfare, check out these screens from Hachima and My Game News Flash: Here is gameplay: This seems to be…

Another Good Overwatch Figure!

The excellent Tracer Figma (some of the world’s finest action figures) is now being joined by a Genji. The figure includes his katana, wakizashi and shuriken, which like Tracer’s motion blur have fancy effects. It’ll be out in May 2018. If you would like to join me in asking that Mercy is next, please hold…

Almost Everyone Is Playing Overwatch With A Mercy On Their Team Now

Overwatch’s angelic healer Mercy got a massive makeover this month. The changes have turned her into the most popular hero across all levels of competitive play, according to data from hundreds of thousands of Overwatch player profiles collected by the fan-run site Omnic Meta. The stats show that Mercy currently gets selected almost 100% of…

Hanzo Cosplay Is Very Beautiful

Cherry blossoms fall / Look at his beautiful face / Do not main Hanzo. This is Stylouz Cosplay. Photos by FlaavTV. For more Overwatch haiku, please consult this collection

Overwatch Players Are Photobombing Halloween Mode Again

In Overwatch’s Halloween-themed “Junkenstein’s Revenge” mode, boss characters get stylish entrances that are one part Play Of The Game and one part Too Many Cooks. Naturally, players have found a way to screw with them. This post originally ran on October 14, 2016. It’s been updated with new photobombs from the 2017 version of Junkenstein’s…

Overwatch’s Most Popular Player Talks Overwatch League (And Bastion)

Brandon “Seagull” Larned has had quite a year, going from esports player to full-time streamer and back again, all while continuing to grow a fandom of millions who love him for his easygoing demeanor and gravity-defying Pharah and Genji plays. Over the weekend, his new team, EnvyUs, swept the finals of the $100,000 Overwatch Contenders…

The Internet Reacts To Overwatch‘s Symmetra Halloween Skin

Overwatch’s Halloween event has been announced, along with new spooky skins. While there are a lot of great new skins on offer, the fandom has already been freaking out over Symmetra’s Halloween skin that depicts her as a Dragon. The fandom has been freaking out over Symmetra’s Dragon skin, which leaked over the weekend. There’s…

Boo! It’s another Overwatch Halloween event! What’s that? You weren’t surprised? You’ve been saving up your credits for months so you could nab a new Zenyatta skin? Well…. Overwatch just announced “Halloween Terror,” which is live now with a few new skins and two PvE brawls.

Man Spends One Year Making Overwatch Themed Anime Tribute

In late 2016, a Korean blogger named Glayer made a short 28-second tribute to Overwatch’s D.Va based on the opening for the popular anime Himouto! Umaru-chan. Now in 2017, he’s finally finished the tribute.  As pointed out by tipster Sang, the clip clocks in at about 1:30, which is about how long the Himouto! Umaru-chan…

Overwatch Team Finishes First Season Back In North America Undefeated

Team Envyus managed to go the entire six weeks of Overwatch Contender’s first regular season undefeated, and proved it wasn’t a fluke during today’s Grand Finals at Blizzards new esports arena. First they swept FNRGFE in a best-of-five semifinals where the latter looked good but not good enough. Despite taking a point off the soon-to-be…

Rogue Lets Go Of Overwatch Roster After Failing To Secure Spot In League

Esports organization Rogue has announced that it will part ways with its current Overwatch roster after not being named one of the inaugural teams in the Overwatch League. Rogue posted a statement on Twitlonger this morning, describing the situation: Today we’re sorry to announce that we will be breaking up the current #RogueOW roster to…

First Of The North Star Parody Makes Fun Of Hanzo Mains In Overwatch

If you’re an Overwatch player capable of pulling off pro strats like switching characters when the moment calls for it, you’re probably perplexed by Hanzo mains, who stick by their limited hero of choice at all costs. Consider, though, that perhaps being a Hanzo main is actually a heroic and poetic struggle perfectly summed up…

Overwatch Director Says Speaking To Fans Is ‘Intimidating’ For His Team

How many of the people who make games fear some of the people who play them? That question drove conversations last week among quite a few game developers, and over the weekend, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan offered his own take: Lots. On the Blizzard forums last Wednesday, a fan wondered if the team behind the…

Shaq, Marshawn Lynch, And J.Lo Are On A Computer To Tell You About The Overwatch League

My fellow San Franciscans, the time has come to celebrate, for Shaquille O’Neal—Overwatch guru and the guy from that bad genie movie—has officially announced the roster for San Francisco’s Overwatch League squad. “The squad is stacked! These boys are ready,” screamed Michael Strahan, a man with deep ties to the Overwatch community and also the…

Beach McCree Cosplay Is Here To Save Lives

If you still can’t decide whether McCree’s Summer Games beach skin is hot or not, cosplayer Leon Chiro is here to help. Chiro, who does everything from stunt work to acrobatics, was recently in the Caribbean dressed in the Overwatch cowboy’s weirdest outfit. If you’re wondering why the trees are all blowing backwards while the…