Newer heroes in Overwatch have been a little more on the conventionally attractive side of late. Why is that? Well, it turns out there’s a technical reason behind it, and it has to do with cosmetics.
Three years on from the release of Overwatch 2, Overwatch is now Overwatch again. Follow? Devs have reverted to the original name and outlined plans for not only the biggest seasonal update yet – with five new heroes dropping all at once – but one of the biggest years yet too.
The Overwatch renaissance of sorts is headlined by those five aforementioned characters, Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat. While Jetpack Cat is obviously the most adorable, the rest fall into the category of being ‘conventionally attractive’.
This follows the trend of newer characters looking relatively human and being rather good-looking. But why has that become the norm in a game where Junkrat exists? Well, it turns out it has to do with skins.
Why are Overwatch characters getting hotter?
Amid the reveal of Season 1’s content, set to launch on February 10, GameSpot interviewed Senior Producer Kenny Hudson. Naturally, they inquired why many of the new characters are so hot.
“Something that we kind of look into when we’re doing our heroes is how can we make them unique, but still give them a good platform, proportionally,” Hudson explained.
In short, that means a good frame in which to use as a canvas for skins down the line. Remember, these characters exist in perpetuity. Tracer has been in the game for 12 years. New skins need to be able to fit the mold, so to speak. This is why devs have been ‘future-proofing’ but sticking to conventionally attractive designs.
“So, one of the things that really helps with that is if you give longer limbs, taller legs, a bigger core, it actually makes it easier for our artists to physically put new geometry on those models. And so, that’s how it kind of turns out.”
Amusingly, it was Wrecking Ball, who arrived back in 2018, that had the devs in “crisis mode” scrambling to figure out how to make new skins for the character.
They’ve since learned from that instance and now feel comfortable veering into the less conventional designs once again. Hence, Jetpack Cat.
