Overwatch finally gets a series. That’s at least the hope – and two top people from Blizzard provide concrete hints about it.
Overwatch is quite a curiosity. Because although the game is purely a PvP experience and there was only a brief attempt to establish story missions, the story of Overwatch is particularly popular. Many have taken the characters to their hearts and are interested in the world and the stories told within it.
No wonder, because the “Cinematic Trailers” for Overwatch are among the best that the industry has to offer. Videos like “The Last Bastion,” “Honor and Glory,” or “Kiriko” have millions of views on YouTube and often several hundred thousand likes.
Under every video of this kind, there is always the demand: “We need an animated series.”
Now, after many years, there are two strong hints that this could really happen.
An Overwatch chief does not rule out a series
A first concrete hint is a statement from Walter Kong, the General Director of Overwatch. In an interview with IGN, he spoke about the future of Overwatch and did not want to “rule out a series.” He further stated:
Every time we release assets, there are these comments like: ‘Hey, we would love an animated series for Overwatch. What the hell, Blizzard? When is that finally happening?’
He further revealed that these opinions are read and resonate within the team:
We definitely hear this, and I think it’s not far-fetched to say that there is a demand for this kind of content. So, for sure, no, I would not rule out that we will see other story experiences in the Overwatch universe at some point in the future.
This connection to Overwatch basically existed even before the launch of the game. Even back then, the cinematics evoked a lot of emotions. Characters like Widowmaker, Winston, Reaper, and Mei were quickly taken to heart – whether you liked the villains or the more heroic characters.
New franchise head for series experience brings new hope
The second major hint that sparks much hope is a new position that has been filled in the Overwatch team. A few days ago, Justin Richmond announced that he is now working at Blizzard as “Franchise Creative Director.”
If you don’t know Richmond yet: He worked on “Uncharted 3” as Co-Director and also contributed as a co-writer to the series “The Dragon Prince” on Netflix. So he has plenty of experience with story developments and series.
In his announcement on X, he speaks about how much he loves the Overwatch universe:
Story time: My very first BlizzCon was when Overwatch was announced, and I immediately fell in love with the world and the game. I kept getting back in line to play the demo as often as possible and got beaten up repeatedly trying to learn Tracer. Hopefully, someone can teach me that now, as I am excited to announce that I am joining the Overwatch team as the new Franchise Creative Director. I can’t wait to contribute to the next era of Overwatch!
What does a Franchise Creative Director do? The job of this position is to further develop a corresponding franchise – that is, Overwatch. This can involve new cinematics for the game, but also entirely new games or other media, like a series.
Cortyn says: Every time there are new hints about a possible Overwatch series, I get my hopes up and look forward to it. I believe that hardly any universe could tell as many great, interesting, and also dark stories as Overwatch can. The franchise is just extremely diverse – from cute, amusing tales to really dark, emotionally gripping thrillers, a lot is possible here.
To conclude with a somewhat free quote I read on Reddit: You don’t get a co-creator of the series “The Dragon Prince” unless you have a streaming project in mind and want someone who understands Netflix.
In this sense: Bring it on. Even though I don’t easily forgive Overwatch many things from the past, I definitely want to see a series. Because the characters are too cool to just leave them as avatars in a PvP shooter. Even if the shooter is currently on a really good path.
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