The recently released Overwatch 2 has been the subject of huge amounts of discourse within the wider gaming community in the weeks following its release on October 4. With many debating the new feel of core gameplay, an alleged lack of unique content, and the controversial monetization system of the title, there are a plethora of talking points surrounding the recent sequel.
That being said, it may be time to start looking toward the future of Overwatch 2 and the franchise as a whole. While new playable heroes have already been added to the release, many of them carry on from the same strands of lore and geographical representation that the franchise has already experienced, and Overwatch 2 should look elsewhere to further establish its own identity.
The Current State of Overwatch 2's Character Representation
With the playable character roster of Overwatch 2 totaling 35 unique heroes, it is no wonder that many geographical locations and backgrounds have already been explored in the franchise. That being said, many fans are starting to notice an over-representation of specific regions, leaving more under-explored portions of the world in the dark.
The lore of the Overwatch franchise is an imperative factor of the series' identity, and the background of each hero is predictably important in contextualizing the Overwatch world and justifying many of the actions and viewpoints of the characters that make up the games. Continents like Europe and Asia have massive amounts of representation in the current Overwatch cast, with the likes of Reinhardt, Brigitte, Torbjorn, Mercy, Sigma, Hanzo, Genji, Mei, Kiriko, and Symmetra all hailing from these continents.
The new additions to the hero roster within Overwatch 2 have only reinforced this, with the aforementioned support class Kiriko being a fresh implementation to the franchise. The other new heroes of Sojourn and Junker Queen have North American and Australian backgrounds respectively, also adding to already popular areas of representation for the game. In Overwatch 2's quest to set itself apart from the identity of its predecessor, it may be pertinent that it look elsewhere when considering the backgrounds of any future heroes.
Where Future Overwatch 2 Heroes Could Come From
As it currently stands, it remains that South America is by far the most under-represented continent among the heroes of Overwatch 2. The musically oriented support class Lucio finds his roots in Brazil, being the only form of South American representation within the franchise.
Given the huge array of countries and cultures within South America, Blizzard would be in no short supply of inspiration should it consider new potential heroes from the South American continent. Not only could this further expand upon the in-game lore of the continent in relation to the geopolitical turmoil of the franchise's story, but it would additionally provide some much-needed balance to the overall levels of representation that different regions of the world have historically received in Overwatch as a series.
Outside of this, other areas of Oceania would be ripe for further exploration in Overwatch 2. While the Mad-Max styled take on Australia within Overwatch lore has received lots of recent attention, the litany of other island nations that populate the continent have had little to no representation within the franchise. New heroes that hail from these locations would not only provide much needed representation for more remote nations that is required from all media, but it would also open up a fascinating avenue for more intimate lore exploration, improving the world building of Overwatch 2 even further.
Overwatch 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.