WhenOverwatchfirst launched in 2016, the idea ofBlizzardputting on a dedicated event forPridefelt like a pipedream. In its first year, it introduced seasonal events like Summer Games, Halloween Terror, and an adorable Christmas celebration with new modes, themed skins, and similar cosmetics to match. It felt like it was breaking new ground with each one. Before the days when live-service shooters ruled the world, this felt like the most innovative online game out there - but Pride seemed too great a leap for gaming to take.
As a pansexual trans woman who was still firmly in the closet when Overwatch released, it wasn’t hard to see myself in the game’s diverse cast of characters from all walks of life. Even if it wasn’t confirmed quite yet, there were elements of queerness across its roster that players couldn’t deny. Tracer would eventually be revealed as the game’s first canon queer character whena festive comic introduced her girlfriend Emily to the world. Heroes like Soldier 76, Baptiste, Pharah, and Lifeweaver would follow in her footsteps, while there are several others across the cast who fans believe are just waiting to be revealed as LGBTQ+.
Pride events sadly aren’t as extensive as other seasonal events, although it would be hard to frame an entire game mode around the fact that some heroes are gay.
Fast-forward to 2025 and Overwatch has garnered a reputation for its annual Pride events in a global landscape where queer people are being unfairly lambasted more than ever. We are in dire need of a force of positivity in video games right now, and Blizzard (despite the company’s various employee controversies) is still there to provide it.
Overwatch Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Its Queerness
This year’s Pride was publicly revealed on social media, a lovely surprise that follows in the footsteps ofDestiny,introducingan absolutely gorgeous new shaderfor Guardians to show off their colours. Blizzard created a new video featuring all the fruity heroes dancing in a reworked version of Midtown, now decorated with all manner of rainbow garlands. Pride isn’t being pushed to the side in a blog post for a small subset of hardcore players to notice, it isbeing shared on all social media platformsas a fundamental part of the game’s existence.
You can’t ignore it because queer people - and queer heroes - exist and deserve recognition. As part of this year’s new event, anyone who logs into Overwatch from now until June 30 will automatically be given a Soldier 76 Pride skin and emote, with the latter heavily inspired by the character’s gay sexuality. I love how the skin runs the gamut of the homosexual Pride flag with bits of purple and green. It’s thrown straight into your inventory too, so queer players don’t have to go looking for it and Overwatch displays its opposition to intolerance at a time when that attitude is badly needed.
Venture is also featured in the aforementioned clip, sporting a non-binary skin, but it’s unclear whether this will be added to the game in the same manner or not.
However, my favourite part of this year’s Pride event is ashort story and a handful of luscious illustrations featuring a young Soldier 76 and his then-partner Vincent. We’ve had whispers of this past romance before, but never in such beautifully tragic detail. It harkens back to a time when John Morrison (AKA Soldier 76) was truly happy, and could see a future where he was free to try to build a family away from the pressures of war.
It wasn’t meant to be, and so now John finds solace in the arms of Overwatch. He is bitter on the surface, but beneath that tough exterior are the remnants of a soft and caring man hardened by heartbreak. Overwatch putting an old queer person on a pedestal for this year’s event is a rare victory in a world where LGBTQ representation is often focused on depictions that heteronormative society can stomach.
Overwatch’s LGBTQ+ Message Is One We Sorely Need Right Now
I’m not naive to the fact that the Overwatch Pride event is a form of rainbow capitalism. Overwatch is a live-service hero shooter that wants to make money from its audience, and that includes any and all queer players. Certain countries also aren’t receiving any of the Pride content due to stricter laws that don’t give LGBTQ people the rights they deserve. But its skin is free, all of its rainbow-themed content is front and centre, and denying its role in the game’s identity is impossible.
Ever since President Trump began his second term earlier this year,queer communities now find themselves in the crosshairsof damaging legislation and reversal of DEI practices which have the gall to frame them as the reason for a broken country’s ills. It’s quite literally going backwards, reversing decades of progress in the name of bigotry that would rather use more vulnerable groups as scapegoats while peeling away their rights one by one. It’s hard for us right now, and we need allies to show up and speak out as much as possible. Stuff over here in the UK isn’t much better,with trans people demonised by government bodies that want to make our lives harderto please the masses rather than take time to understand us. It sucks.
Overwatch doesn’t depict a utopian future either; it is still a world defined by conflict and global strife. But this doesn’t stop queer people from existing or celebrating both who they are and want to be.
Overwatch might just be a video game, but for years it has existed as a bastion of heartfelt queer representation. For it to continue that journey despite having an easy means of escape is worth acknowledging. It could have rolled things back, churned out old content, or even done nothing to celebrate Pride this year at all, and it would have been another sad dismissal of queer people to add to the pile. It didn’t though, and I can keep believing in this universe.
