Overwatch 2‘s hero design philosophy has changed since the sequel launched in 2022. With the exception of Ramattra, the robotic omnic tank who was the fourth character added to the new roster, every other hero Blizzard has added to the hero shooter has been a human, most of whom are probably considered conventionally attractive. It’s a far cry from the game that once greeted players each time they booted up the game with a speech from a talking gorilla, but it turns out, this isn’t just a coincidence; it’s a result of a new design philosophy Blizzard has adopted since Overwatch 2 launched.
In an interview with Polygon, Overwatch 2 lead concept artist Daryl Tan explained that the team has been prioritizing characters they believe fans can make a “deeper connection with,” and that means they’re moving away from the “oddball” characters like Wrecking Ball, a robot-piloting hamster, or even Ramattra, who is a central piece in Overwatch‘s fiction, but is an outlier in the design philosophy the team has adopted.
“We always will approach making Overwatch heroes… aspirational in some sense,” Tan told Polygon. “They’re aspirational in their physique, in their expertise at what they do, and just being really cool heroes that we can look up to.”
That doesn’t mean that there will never be a non-human character in Overwatch 2 again. Tan says that there is some “exciting stuff down the road” in this regard that the team will “sprinkle” into the roster in between these more “aspirational” heroes. That being said, the quote has got a lot of Overwatch 2 fans talking, with some viewing it as a smoking gun revealing underlying philosophies they’ve long suspected given the way characters have been rolled out and treated in recent years.
Overwatch 2 has a long-debated problem with only a handful of characters in its 44-hero roster getting the lion’s share of cosmetics. Heroes like Kiriko, Mercy, and lately Juno have received a plethora of skins each season, while less popular heroes have been in a drought. As Blizzard has started releasing more conventionally attractive heroes who receive skins at an abnormally high rate compared to others, some characters have come to be seen as skin-selling cash cows rather than something that adds to the world or live game. If those are the characters whose skins sell, it certainly makes sense that Blizzard would keep giving them new outfits, but it does mean that Mercy mains shoulder an unnecessary burden of setting the tone for what Blizzard can get away with in terms of cosmetic prices. For some Overwatch fans, Blizzard saying that it’s prioritizing “aspirational” character design over quirkier characteristics seems like a thinly veiled way of saying it is prioritizing conventionally attractive heroes who people will buy skins for. It has fans debating whether or not long-established and beloved characters like the omnic Zenyatta or gorilla scientist Winston would have made the cut 10 years later.
This is the first thing you see when you start Overwatch for the first time btw https://t.co/2R6FgBXC5X pic.twitter.com/UrtUKwQr6A
— Banjo (@banjonosequemas) August 13, 2025
To me it’s actually getting boring and isn’t “relatable” or “aspirational” at all to see the same conventionally attractive heroes with the same physique be pumped out by every live service game. (Not just Overwatch)
Characters don’t feel iconic anymore in order to sell skins. https://t.co/WaHijFPHfT
— Venta (@ventafps) August 14, 2025
Im blaming the people who constantly defended the terrible skin distribution for this btw https://t.co/b4op3tovlV
— Null Sector Propaganda (@ramattraburner) August 14, 2025
https://t.co/sDjnrifSqJ pic.twitter.com/x5a7bRIrpd
— catgrease (@catgrease) August 13, 2025
BORING WE WANT MAMA HONG, NOT COVENTIALLY ATTRACTIVE BUFF DUDE 57 https://t.co/7laXOigIzC pic.twitter.com/3WKj1v7vTj
— Frogger (@FroggerOW) August 13, 2025
so theyre taking away the biggest thing that made the game unique and conforming to what every single game is doing now and making basic attractive character #12 now ? lol https://t.co/2uFQWyu1V9
— abby (@peachydaes2) August 13, 2025
This is very much a consequence of the instability of the games industry atm and how letting market forces drive create decisions is almost always a bad thing and I’m glad the community collectively agrees this is a bad directorial decision. https://t.co/TAIcScoieT
— Laurence @ Drawing (@volskayadottxt) August 13, 2025
You can absolutely make an “oddball” character with a relatable story that connects with people btw
— mel (@ruramme) August 13, 2025
One of the biggest reasons i fell in love with Overwatch was how all heroes were different, look wise, their gameplay, story. They felt special and did not adhere to the beauty standards or norm when it came to design. Overwatch heroes are special beyond how they look, this sucks https://t.co/iOIXoZwiGz
— p a m i @ 17% healing (@pampurins) August 13, 2025
Overwatch reveals Zenyatta re-design in a bid to make heroes more “relatable” pic.twitter.com/SZ5oIIokH9
— updates for that one overwatch robot i forgot name (@zenupdat) August 13, 2025
a game that prides itself on its diversity calling them “oddballs” and now pushing away from that…seems a bit weird
— abby (@peachydaes2) August 13, 2025
bastion if he came out in 2025 https://t.co/cpKeSvTjub pic.twitter.com/bmM2JGleuL
— ًً (@dvaetic) August 13, 2025
While some fans argue that supply and demand dictate all creative decisions, broadly it seems like everyone is pretty bummed to hear that Overwatch 2, a game that once championed diversity and oddities, is apparently becoming a lot safer. Wrecking Ball was somewhat contentious back in the day because the game was putting out a hamster character while the game was still in desperate need of a Black woman on the roster, but it was at least nice knowing this world could facilitate some interesting characters you didn’t expect.
It’s so weird to see the Overwatch community collectively united this way but it’s for a good reason??
— Laurence @ Drawing (@volskayadottxt) August 13, 2025
Overwatch 2’s next hero, Wuyang, is joining the roster in season 18, but he will be playable early during a test phase from August 14 to 18.
