Shipping, or the act of writing about, drawing or being enthusiastic about a particular fictional couple, has become a part of what it means to be a fan of something. It’s also older than you think.

Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human doesn’t seem like the type of video game that would spawn an enthusiastic fandom on Tumblr. It’s a sci-fi game about robot civil rights that sometimes stumbles in its political commentary, and there’s nary a romance plot in sight. Nevertheless, fans are writing fic, making art and…

At a recent Philadelphia Fusion watch party, a man proposed to his girlfriend by asking her to “be the Mercy to my Genji.” I am very happy for this couple, but I must have a word with them about their taste in Overwatch ships.

Ever since Brigitte was introduced as a new hero for Overwatch, some fans have been excitedly shipping her with D.va, in a pairing called Mekamechanic. We don’t know a lot about Brigitte, but that’s part of what makes this pairing work: Fans can just make it up as they go along.

When I hear the term “shipping” I usually try to remember if I ordered something online that I can track obsessively until it reaches the office. But over the past few years I’ve heard it in reference to imagining romances between characters in games like Fire Emblem and Overwatch. I was happy to discover that Kotaku…

In fandom, the rules of fiction don’t matter, or at least matter a lot less. This is what allows shipping to exist, where fans write fanfiction, draw fanart, and get enthusiastic by a couple that may never happen in the game’s canon. Fandoms for video games this year were enthusiastic and loud, and sometimes cropped…

Overwatch has a new character, Moira O’Deorain, a support who’s a member of the antagonistic Talon organization. While some players wonder how this new character will shake up gameplay, other fans want to know who to ship her with.

While it’s possible to play Overwatch and not pay attention to its lore, there’s a part of that game’s fandom that loves it for its lore. These fans theorize about character backgrounds, make fan art, and often obsess over the possible romantic pairing in the game, known as “shipping.” They imagine former friends…

I main Mercy, so I have a very long and detailed ranking of Overwatch characters I would like her to date. Genji is not at the top of that list, but Symettra’s voice actor is making an argument that maybe he should be.