Overwatch 2’s first Delight celebration kicks off June 1, Blizzard Leisure introduced Tuesday, bringing free cosmetics, increasing illustration, and a chance to assist the LGBTQ+ group. Blizzard is giving gamers a sequence of latest identify playing cards and participant icons, with which they’ll showcase their identification or just assist Delight celebrations.
Beginning Thursday, Overwatch gamers can choose in to including cosmetics based mostly on flags representing lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, agender, aromantic, asexual, genderfluid, intersex, non-binary, and pansexual identities. Blizzard calls this yr’s inaugural Delight occasion “just the start of Delight in Overwatch 2. Over the approaching Seasons and years, we’ll have extra to share because the deeper lore of the Overwatch universe unfolds.”
Delight in Overwatch 2 may even take over the sport’s Midtown map, which has been up to date with a sequence of ornamental flags and rainbow-hued crosswalks — Blizzard describes the replace to the New York-set map as reflecting the aftermath of a Delight parade on this planet of Overwatch.
Blizzard can also be increasing Overwatch’s LGBTQ+ illustration on the sport’s roster, confirming that Baptiste is bisexual and the Pharah is a lesbian. These two heroes be part of beforehand confirmed queer characters Tracer, Soldier: 76, and Lifeweaver. A newly revealed brief story, “As You Are,” additional explores the background and identities of Baptiste and Pharah — whereas additionally obliquely acknowledging the longstanding “Pharmercy” ship between Fareeha Amari and Dr. Angela “Mercy” Ziegler.
![Soldier: 76, Tracer, Pharah, Baptiste, and Lifeweaver pose on the map Midtown, updated to reflect Pride month, in Overwatch 2](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/miUkVi56fEsvu7kfua89hD3nYag=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24691315/OVR_S4_Pride_017.jpeg)
Picture: Blizzard Leisure
Whereas Delight in Overwatch 2 is at the moment restricted to principally beauty adjustments, Blizzard builders say they intend to proceed to develop the occasion past what it’s now.
“We wished Delight, within the sport, the occasion that we’re operating, we wished it to really feel like the sport is reflecting what’s occurring in the actual world,” mentioned sport director Aaron Keller in a gaggle interview. “We do that a number of occasions all year long […] for [holidays like] Halloween and Lunar New 12 months. So individuals which might be taking part in the sport, they’ll see this reflection of what’s occurring in the actual world occurring in on this planet of Overwatch. For us, that is the beginning of constructing upon this occasion, the identical manner that we’ve constructed upon lots of the opposite occasions in our video games.”
Not like different occasions in Overwatch 2, gamers shouldn’t anticipate any additional sport modes or dialogue associated to Delight throughout this yr’s occasion, nonetheless. “We don’t have particular voice strains for Delight, not this yr,” mentioned senior narrative designer Jen Stacey. “We would sooner or later — it’s an exquisite concept. However I can say that we do have voice strains, the place characters’ sexualities and identities come up in gameplay.”
![Baptiste poses with a Pride flag on a nighttime version of Overwatch 2’s Midtown (New York) map.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/izFHEt1BdS-Rx6F7u3lKIaTAtB8=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24691410/OVR_S4_Pride_016.jpeg)
Picture: Blizzard Leisure
“The content material this yr, our objective […] was actually about giving our gamers and our worker gamers the power to determine in sport — simply to self determine and simply have the chance of expression,” mentioned senior sport producer Brandy Stiles. “So that you’re gonna see an unlimited array of participant icons and identify playing cards that individuals can select to equip, and blend and match as their hearts need. After which we’ve got the the map content material as effectively. That was our main focus this yr, if that helps see what our targets had been.”
Blizzard — and Stiles, who’s chair of Blizzard’s worker LGBTQ+ community — stress that Overwatch 2’s Delight occasion is an employee-led addition to the sport. And that it was a very long time coming.
“That is one thing that we’ve actually labored towards,” Stiles mentioned. “Why is Delight manifesting as it’s now? I’ve been at Blizzard for 16 years — most of that’s been over on Blizzard animation; I’ve only in the near past joined the Overwatch staff — however seven years in the past, the management of the Overwatch staff got here to an brazenly out worker and mentioned, Hey, may you assist get us a staff collectively? We’d like some some session on how we develop genuine queer characters. They’ve a spot in our story. And we wish to make it possible for we do it proper. What occurred was we a gaggle of LGBT workers from throughout the corporate obtained collectively — nonetheless a fairly small group, however fairly effectively rounded — and we began simply jamming on story concepts and arising with greatest methods to authentically symbolize LGBT individuals. What got here from that was the Tracer comedian Reflections. After that, our group noticed there’s a necessity for us to remain collectively and assist all the sport groups. So we’ve completed that. Overwatch coming to us and asking for this session led to what was the primary Blizzard worker community and we’ve stayed collectively since.”
![An aerial shot of the Midtown map’s post-checkpoint intersection, showing flags representation transgender, intersex, pansexual, and lesbian pride.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vPQ1Cufs8MfWD8pkcabHX3Hk4-4=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24691411/OW_Pride_Midtown_008.jpeg)
Picture: Blizzard Leisure
Exterior of the sport, Blizzard is launching a variety of Delight-themed attire on the Blizzard Gear Store, which has been curated by the corporate’s LGBT+ worker community. Web proceeds from these gross sales, from Could 16 by means of June 30, shall be donated to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). The NCTE says it “advocates to vary insurance policies and society to extend understanding and acceptance of transgender individuals [and] works to interchange disrespect, discrimination, and violence with empathy, alternative, and justice.”