More Than Just A Shooter, Blizzard's 'Overwatch' Has Grown Into A Fandom Complete With Its Own Cosplay, Fanfiction, And More

Blizzard's popular shooter Overwatch has taken the world by storm thanks to its fast-paced gameplay and likeable characters. While the gameplay is, of course, the driving force behind Overwatch's success, the game's lore and characters have created an enduring fandom that exists outside the confines of the game's exciting gunplay.

Bite-Sized Lore

Despite having no in-game story, Overwatch has a lot of lore for curious fans to sink their teeth into. Prior to the game's launch, Blizzard built up hype for the game by releasing a series of animated short videos and digital-only comics. These features helped to build the world's back story and shed light on the motivations and relationships that drive the game's diverse cast of quirky characters.

At a recent panel, Jeff Kaplan, the game's lead developer, discussed the shorts and said they were among his favorite parts of the game.

"The animated shorts are probably the thing that we have the most fun making," said Kaplan. "We really love working with our animation group and digging out the stories not tied to any constraints of gameplay - we can tell any stories we want."

In-game, the characters' banter and personalities serve to highlight their relationships and back stories. Even if you've never seen any of the game's animated videos, the exchange between Tracer and Widowmaker makes it clear that these two characters have a troubled history. Such moments add nothing to the gameplay, but they do serve as a way for players to build a connection to the characters and see them as something more than a toolkit of abilities.

A Growing Fandom

More than a mere marketing gimmick, Overwatch's fandom has embraced Blizzard's out-of-game style of world building. Blizzcon, the annual celebration of all things Blizzard, has featured a growing number of Overwatch cosplayers alongside Blizzard staples like Warcraft and StarCraft.

Reddit and other internet message boards have entire threads dedicated to discussing the back stories and implied relationships that Blizzard has built up between these characters.

Speaking of the internet, no true fandom is complete without a virtual library of fanfiction, and Overwatch is no exception. Two popular fanfiction websites, Archive of Our Own and FanFiction.Net, feature more than 15,000 stories dedicated to Blizzard's popular shooter. For sake of reference, that gives Overwatch, a game that has been out less than a year, a larger fandom than DC Comics' Green Arrow, a character that has existed since the 1940s.

Try It For Yourself

Overwatch is a full-priced video game that retails from $40 to $60, but as part of its first anniversary celebration, Blizzard is making the game free to play for the weekend of May 26.