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CultureThe 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…
By Gita Jackson Published October 10, 2017 -
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.
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 10, 2017 -
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 10, 2017 -
Esports
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…
By Ethan Gach Published October 8, 2017 -
Esports
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…
By Eric Van Allen Published October 8, 2017 -
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…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 4, 2017 -
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…
By Jason Schreier Published October 2, 2017 -
EsportsShaq, 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…
By Patrick Redford Published September 28, 2017 -
CultureCosplay
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…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2017 -
Overwatch Hasn’t Felt Quite As Toxic Lately
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot more “Great ult!” and “Thanks for switching!” in Overwatch than “Get wrecked, you useless piece of s***.” After toxicity in Overwatch’s competitive mode reached critical saturation last season, this season, which began September 1st, has felt markedly more positive. Doom and gloom marked Season 5 of Overwatch’s competitive mode,…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 28, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch‘s Most Popular Player Says Picking New Team Was ‘One Of The Hardest’ Decisions Of His Life
As was foretold (by himself), Brandon “Seagull” Larned is back. But the DPS dynamo didn’t return to partially Shaq-owned team NRG Esports. In a move that surprised many, he’s jumped ship to Team EnvyUs Earlier this year, Seagull stepped away from the highest levels of pro Overwatch play to dedicate himself to streaming. At the…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 25, 2017 -
Esports
Pro Overwatch Players Use Wall Of Tanks To Overwhelm Enemy Team
A good Overwatch team composition requires balance, offense and defense, light and shadow, yin and yang. Or you can just smother your problems by throwing a bunch of meat at them. That’s what Chinese Overwatch team Miracle Team 1 decided to do against FTD Club in an Overwatch Premier Series match, and it worked shockingly…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 22, 2017 -
Student’s Overwatch Concept Art Is So Good, Even Blizzard Is Talking About It
One Thai computer art student gave the Overwatch community something we didn’t even know we wanted, and now, a lot of us want it very badly. Yesterday, student who goes by RM-Parfait posted a concept design (a project for her Master’s) for a Thai support hero on the Overwatch forumsand, in response, fans begged the Overwatch team…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 21, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch League has finalized all 12 teams and announced the start-date for its inaugural season: January 10, 2018. We’ll get to see the teams in action before then. Starting on December 6, the Blizzard Arena in LA will host a series of preseason exhibition matches.
By Maddy Myers Published September 20, 2017 -
A Bold New Overwatch Strategy: Being Nice
Become a better Overwatch player with this one neat trick: being nice. You’ll get results almost instantly! “Think about all the times somebody’s said something negative to you in the game and imagine now if somebody had said something positive to you instead,” Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan said in a recent video. Some (myself included)…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 18, 2017 -
Here’s Overwatch’s Mercy In XCOM 2
There’s a mod for XCOM 2 called [WotC] Overwatch Mercy Squadmate. It does exactly what the name and picture here suggest, adding the angelic healer to XCOM 2’snew expansion, War of the Chosen (Though she’s also available for the base game). The mod brings multiple options. You can choose from nine skins, and also from…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 14, 2017 -
Blizzard Says Fighting Toxic Behavior Is Slowing Down Overwatch Updates
Overwatch has serious issues with toxic players, and in recent months, those problems only seem to have gotten worse. Blizzard swears up and down that it’s working to improve player behavior, but according to game director Jeff Kaplan, those efforts are taking a direct toll on other aspects of the game’s development. In a new…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 13, 2017 -
EsportsPro Overwatch Team Starts Cooking Show
Team EnvyUs is a major esports organization whose Overwatch team is like a circling bird of prey. Other teams might be flying high, but Envy’s shadow always looms heavy. So anyway, they’ve started a cooking show. The first episode of EnvyUs’ YouTube show “Envy Eats” stars Overwatch aim god Timo “Taimou” Kettunen and follows him…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 13, 2017 -
It Isn’t Easy Being An Overwatch Fan In Africa
When Shuaib Sookia, an Overwatch fan who lives in the African country of Mauritius, posted to both the game’s subreddit and official forums about how much of a pain it can be to play Blizzard’s team-based shooter without servers located anywhere on the continent of Africa, he wasn’t expecting much in the way of response.…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 13, 2017 -
Esports
Two more Overwatch League team buyers have emerged from the world of traditional sports. ESPN reports that Neil Leibman, co-owner of the Texas Rangers, has purchased the Houston Overwatch League slot. Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, has staked its claim on Philadelphia.
By Maddy Myers Published September 13, 2017