Can Overwatch's Zenyatta Walk? Blizzard Makes It Happen, But It's Weird

When it comes to Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch, the developers sometimes give in to fan requests. This time it involves Zenyatta and how he walks.

Reports noted that the request originated from a fan during the Overwatch League tournament. The game studio apparently noticed that one individual held up a sign that said: "let Zen walk." Surprisingly, the game's official Twitter account posted a short clip of the mystic Omnic as he strolled around with his legs instead of his usual float.

Not Everyone Flies

Zenyatta is an Omnic monk and a support character in Overwatch. It seems that for the longest time fans noticed that they have never seen the hero walk in the game or in cutscenes. The developers intentionally made him float since footsteps are audible cues in-game. Seasoned players can recognize which character is nearby based on the noise generated from a character's walk animation.

What makes him different is the absence of sound due to his levitation. Because the hero has low health, it is a slight advantage if he could catch enemies off-guard with a full-charged Orb Volley attack.

It might be easily mistaken that all Omnics like Zenyatta move by levitation, but Blizzard debunked this in the animated short Alive where Tekhartha Mondatta walked. Players can just effortlessly assume that it is also how the former would look like if he walks, given that they look exactly alike.

Giving Fans What They Want

Blizzard Entertainment does not seem like it was content just to have their fans imagine how the mystic character would walk. Therefore, with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, they created a short footage of Zenyatta's in-game character model with both of his feet on the ground.

What fans got was a funny depiction of the hero that appears to struggle with gravity during his movement. The animation looks like it was intended to make fans laugh and seems to do the job rather well. The developers animated his walk in a way that each step comically lacked weight somewhat akin to how old cartoon characters would move about. The team even included a mix of his attack animation together with the new movement, which some fans on Twitter supposedly found disturbing.

New Character Teaser

According to reports, the game studio recently posted something else on Twitter that got fans excited. Some sources claim that it might be a hint that a new character is on its way. The message appears to be a battle report that detailed what happened during an operation. Several familiar names were mentioned and included the name Emre Sarioglu, which is speculated by fans as the next hero.

Keeping It Fresh

Since Blizzard Entertainment released the game in 2016, the company continuously showed immense dedication to its post-launch support. Suggestions and complaints posted on the official Overwatch forums were taken into consideration for future balance updates. New content and limited time events keep the game interesting. Lastly, Zenyatta's latest walk animation shows that the developers know how to have fun.