winrule.pages.dev

Overwatch gay

Overwatch and I possess been a bit distant lately. When news of the Activision Blizzard workplace culture lawsuit came about, I adorable much stopped playing the hero shooter with any regularity. It’s been a sad feeling, as I’ve dumped over 1000 hours into the game since 2019, when it was confirmed Soldier: 76 was a gay man, and I was immediately more interested in checking the game out as a person who writes about queerness in games. But in the time between that scandal and the launch of Overwatch 2 last week, I’ve taken some time to explore other exist games.

After all this time apart, seeing how games enjoy Apex Legends and Dead By Daylight have taken steps to recognize not only the games’ queer characters, but their queer communities has made Overwatch’s relative restraint touch more calculated and risk-averse than ever. Especially for a game that highlights the diversity of its cast as a selling point.

I’ve been playing a fair bit of Overwatch 2, and while my larger thoughts on what the sequel means for the shooter would make their own blog, I was more focused on how Overwatch 2 acknowledges queerness at arms length, where other games seem ready and willing

Russia blocks Overwatch comic over gay character

Back in 2013 Russia passed a regulation stopping "gay propaganda" being available to under-18s.

Although homosexuality is legal in the country, the authorities are allowed to block access to websites deemed to promote it.

In 2015 they even moved to ban emojis which showed queer couples kissing.

The tenth issue of the Overwatch comic is largely a festive tale, based around Tracer's attempts to get a offer for her flatmate Emily.

In a expression to IGN, external Blizzard said: "Tracer is a female homosexual on the Gay spectrum.

"As in valid life, having variety in our characters and their identities and backgrounds helps create a richer and deeper overall fictional universe.

"From the beginning, we've wanted the cosmos of Overwatch to feel welcoming and inclusive, and to reflect the diversity of our players around the earth.

"As with any aspect of our characters' backgrounds, their sexuality is just one part of what makes our heroes who they are."



LGBT in Overwatch Mega(y)thread 2

shiinotic-18891

I gave it a bit since the mods have historically manually unlocked the thread after it hit reply cap, but that’s okay; we can start over with a clean thread during pride month

This is a topic to consolidate story discussion re: LGBT representation in Overwatch

Since the last thread, I am delighted to provide the current list of LGBT representation in Overwatch:

  • Tracer is canonically lesbian (and is in a bond with a civilian, Emily)

  • Soldier: 76 is canonically homosexual (and was formerly in a relationship with a civilian, Vincent)

  • Pharah is canonically lesbian

  • Baptiste is canonically bisexual

  • Lifeweaver is canonically pansexual

  • Venture is canonically trans non-binary

I ponder it’s been really absorbing to see how Blizzard stepped it up (so to speak) since the last thread I made. I’ll be taking the pan lifeweaver skin whenever you want to donate it to me blizzard thanks!!!

13 Likes

Righteous-115152

Glad there’s a new thread up, I was wondering if the mods were ever going to unlock the vintage thread again considering it was obviously well over the post limit and had been unlocked be

Overwatch was first released in 2016, and it quickly became widespread due to its fun mechanics and its colorful and diverse heroes and villains. With such inclusivity seemingly at the forefront, it was no real surprise that LGBTQIA representation quickly became something Overwatch fans wanted.

Queer voice in video games has massively improved over time, largely because technology has become more usable over time, as well as the shifting attitudes towards the queer community. However, back in 2016, LGBTQIA characters in FPS games, or hero shooters, were not particularly the done thing. So, while Apex Legends has seemingly mastered the task of including a diverse and inclusive cast with its characters, 2016 made Overwatch stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

Because of this desire for voice, fans of the game were more than happy when Activision Blizzard revealed the game’s very first LGBTQIA character to be the ‘star’ of Overwatch, a British hero character named Tracer. What really inspired fans was that this was the very first year of Overwatch, and there had been a commit of more stories and lore on the way. Could this m