Overwatch's latest hero has been revealed, and she's an old woman.
Seriously. However, just because Ana is up there in age doesn't mean she isn't a formidable opponent. She sports a powerful sniper rifle that can heal teammates and injure enemies, as well as a number of other abilities that help to support her team. She's experienced and battle-hardened, and all in all, looks like a great addition to the Overwatch roster.
She's also an important one. In any other game, the idea of a 60-plus-year-old woman sniper would come off as unrealistic or simply strange. After all, the video game industry is one where shooters are often dominated by generic-looking 25-year-old white guys sporting buzzcuts year in and year out.
With that in mind, it makes the excitement surrounding the introduction of Ana yet another great example of how Blizzard is changing the rules when it comes to Overwatch. The game is filled with characters of all races, body types and ages. It features one of the most diverse roster of characters from any game in recent memory, and Blizzard's first new character continues that trend.
Ana, in fact, isn't the only senior Overwatch hero. There's also the gray-haired Soldier 76, who actually served alongside Ana back in their youth. Soldier 76 is often referred to affectionately as "dad" by more than a few Overwatch players, and no doubt, Ana will be the game's mother (or grandmother) figure. However, Overwatch doesn't only represent characters of all ages, it also represents players of all body types as well.
Blizzard caught flak early on in Overwatch's development for how the majority of its female characters were tall, sleek and slender, often wearing skintight clothing or revealing large amounts of skin. However, unlike most game companies, Blizzard actually listened to fans and came back with real answers. It introduced female heroes like the weightlifting Zarya and the winter jacket-sporting Mei, two characters who are in no way traditionally sexy but with whom fans fell in love all the same. One quick Google search will turn up truck-loads of (sometimes NSFW) fan art featuring the two characters, and much the same can be said for nearly any hero on the Overwatch roster.
It's a similar scenario with Ana. Even though she's a senior citizen, fans are already drawing comics and posting fan art of her. Blizzard continues to prove that it's not how sexy a character is, their age, skin color or body type that makes a character popular, but that it's their personality, gameplay and overall sense of style that matters. Overwatch continues to serve as an example that heroes come in all shapes, colors, ages and sizes, and it's an example we hope Blizzard will keep setting with new heroes in the future.
