Blizzard has always had a skill for creating amazingly deep, rich and immersive worlds. Warcraft remains their biggest claim to fame. Blizzard's style of storytelling is so detailed, and interesting that they received a motion movie picture. While World Of Warcraft is arguably Blizzard's crowning achievement, Overwatch takes a close second. For a game that has no single-player campaign experience, the lore of Overwatch is incredibly deep and complex.

Unlike most games, If you're interested in the world of Overwatch, you're going to have to do some research. Between voice lines, random hero interaction in-game and skins, every little detail in Overwatch tells a story. Blizzard releases animated short stories featuring different heroes that give us insight into each character's past. Besides the animated shorts, Blizzard also released comics online that really dive deep into the lore. If you just play Overwatch and don't involve yourself in the comics or written story, then you probably don't know a whole lot about the world of Overwatch. I've done quite a bit of reading into the lore of Overwatch, and I've tried to include the most interesting and perhaps most unknown facts about the world of Overwatch in this list. If you're a fan of the game, then I definitely recommend reading into the Overwatch lore as it gives you a whole new level of appreciation for the game and a deeper understanding of many of its heroes.

15 Overwatch Takes Place In The Near-Future

'via blizzardwatch.com

Unlike other Blizzard games, Overwatch takes place in a near-future version of Earth. Other Blizzard games typically take place in a fantasy realm that is completely separate from Earth, but they decided to set Overwatch on Earth to make it more relatable for the players.  Overwatch takes place around the year 2070 although the events leading up to it started around 30 years prior. It's hard to imagine what the world will be like 60 years from now, let alone whether the presence of artificial intelligence and robots will be a common thing. It's definitely a possibility, but hopefully, we don't suffer an Omnic crisis like the world of Overwatch did, and if we do, hopefully, we have heroes to protect us. In the case of a robot revolution, sign me up for cybernetic configuration! Here I come my little baby boy Genji.

14 Doomfist Is Generational

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Doomfist is a highly anticipated character in the Overwatch world, so much so that former NFL linebacker and actor Terry Crews has visited the Blizzard headquarters and even done a mock interview for the role. I don't know about you, but I couldn't think of anyone better than Terry Crews to voice act Doomfist. Anyway, Doomfist is apparently a generational villain similar to Green Lantern or The Flash. Winston helped take down Doomfist during his service with Overwatch, and they were able to obtain the deadly weapon he used, ironically also called Doomfist. Winston and Tracer successfully prevented Reaper and Widowmaker from stealing the Doomfist gauntlet, but it's been apparent that another Doomfist is still out there.

13 Reaper Was The Initial Leader Of Overwatch

'via playoverwatch.com'

Although it's widely known that Reaper is on the side of evil now, he wasn't always as a dastardly dude. Besides the black cloak and deathly demeanor, Reaper used to be a good guy. Gabriel Reyes aka Reaper was the initial leader of the Overwatch strike team, with Jack Morrison at his side. As time passed, Reaper and Soldier 76 constantly clashed ideology, and eventually, it escalated to an internal rebellion against Morrison's leadership. It all ended when both Morrison and Reyes supposedly died in the explosion at Overwatch's headquarters, which they both obviously ended up surviving. Since then, Reaper adapted a new attire and started his occupation as a villain, working with terrorist organization Talon.

12 Talon Is Still At Large

'via overwatch.wikia.com'

If you haven't been keeping up with the Overwatch animated shorts or comics, then you might not know about the existence of a terrorist organization in the game called Talon. After the Omnic crisis ended, Talon became the main priority for the Overwatch strike team, and even after the team disbanded, it continues to pose the biggest threat to the Overwatch heroes and the world itself. It's well known that both Reaper and Widowmaker are now working with Talon to take out the members of the Overwatch strike team. They're basically your classic bad guy organization. Talon is the main reason that Winston called for the Overwatch recall. Tracer was the first hero to answer the call, and she quickly got to work with Winston.

11  Hanzo Killed Genji (At least he thought he did)

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Although Hanzo and Genji are brothers and obviously two different heroes, Blizzard originally had one hero that wielded a bow and a katana before they decided to make two separate heroes that specialized in each weapon. Hanzo and Genji were both sons of the leader of the Shimada Clan, a global crime syndicate specializing in the sale of weapons and drugs. When their father died, Hanzo, being the eldest son, took his place as leader, and trouble brewed between the brothers. Eventually, Hanzo and Genji fought to decide who would lead the Shimada Clan, and when the fight was over, Genji was dead, or at least Hanzo thought he has. Hanzo was ashamed of what he had done, and he evidently left the Shimada Clan, and roamed the earth, seeking to redeem his honor.

10  Zenyatta Was Genji's Mentor

'via glemda.com'

After Genji had his almost fatal battle with his bow-wielding brother Hanzo, Genji was picked up by the Overwatch team as he was a valuable asset for taking down the Shimada Clan. Genji was on the brink of death, and Mercy saved his life. Overwatch offered to heal his body in exchange for his help with taking down his family's crime syndicate. Genji agreed to the terms. He was fitted with a cybernetic body. After taking down the Shimada Clan, Genji's work with Overwatch was over. He was repulsed with his mechanical body to the point where he didn't feel human anymore. Genji roamed the earth until he met Zenyatta, who taught him to embrace his new body. Although Genji's body was mechanical, he had a human soul, and Zenyatta shared his wisdom with Genji to the point of becoming his mentor of sorts.

9  Widowmaker Is A Sleeper-agent

'via dorkly.com'

It's well known that Widowmaker is an agent for Talon, but what's not as commonly known is that she's a sleeper agent. Amelie Lacroix aka Widowmaker was once married to Gerard Lacroix, an Overwatch agent who oversaw operations against Talon. Talon had many failed assassination attempts towards Gerard, and after a while, they decided to kidnap Amelie. They experimented on her, and eventually turned her into an emotionless assassin, re-programming her as a sleeper agent. She was later found by the Overwatch team and returned to her life with Gerard. She killed Gerard while he slept, and we now know her as Widowmaker. The Overwatch world is filled with dark lore, and Widowmakers story may be the darkest of them all.

8  Talon Is Still A Mystery

'via unilad.com'

We know that Talon is an infamous terrorist organization that poses a huge threat to the world of Overwatch and we know that after Winston made the recall, they became the team's main priority. What we don't know, is their intentions. It has been made clear that Talon is out to eliminate the members of Overwatch, but why go after an already disbanded team? That is still a mystery. All we know is that on behalf of Talon, Reaper, and Widowmaker attempted to steal Doomfist's gauntlet and were stopped by Winston and Tracer. Other than that, the intentions of this shadowy crime syndicate are relatively unknown. Though it's a mystery, it's probably along the lines of taking over the world, blah, blah, blah. But who knows, maybe it's more elaborate than we think.

7  Overwatch Was Born From The Ashes Of "Titan"

'via playoverwatch.com'

Blizzard has without a doubt made an absolute masterpiece of a game between the overall gameplay, innovation, and deep lore of Overwatch even without a singleplayer/campaign experience. Although many Blizzard games are huge successes, Overwatch was only made possible because of the failure of a previous Blizzard title that never came to fruition. Titan was supposed to be an MMO by Blizzard, but sadly, it was canceled, and from its ashes, Overwatch was born. Blizzard even brought over locations and characters from Titan, the most notable being Tracer, who they knew from the start would be the main character of Overwatch. Sometimes sacrifice is needed for success, and though Blizzard was disappointed about Titan, it was ultimately necessary for Overwatch to be the game it is today.

6 The 7 Founders Of Overwatch

'via overwatch.wikia.com'

While there are many playable characters in Overwatch (not all of them are actually a part of the current or past Overwatch team), the original team was very small, to begin with. Starting of course with Reyes and Morrison (Reaper and Soldier 76) its founding members were Gérard Lacroix (Widowmakers husband), Torbjörn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Ana Amari, and Liao. Gerard and Liao, although they were founding members of Overwatch are not currently playable in the game. Gerard is dead, and obviously, will never be coming to the game, but Liao is a huge mystery at the moment. We may see him as a playable hero in the future, but we know nothing about him at this point in time.

5 Controversy Tore Overwatch Apart

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We all view Overwatch as a courageous team that fights for the sake of justice and freedom, but not everybody felt the same way. Such a powerful group of elite heroes was bound to attract significant attention, and not all publicity is good publicity when it comes to government task forces. Overwatch was under absurd allegations for negligence, corruption and mismanagement, weapons proliferation, human rights abuses, and more. The public lashed out against Overwatch, and rioted in the streets, demanding that they be shut down permanently. The UN launched an investigation into the claims, but before they could come to a conclusion, Overwatch's Swiss Headquarters blew-up with both Reaper and Soldier 76 inside. After the explosion, the team disbanded.

4 Mei Has A Dark Past

'via technobuffalo.com'

Besides being a living, breathing meme of the Overwatch world, Mei is probably the most positive and vibrant member of the Overwatch team. Many of her voice lines and emotes are oozing with team spirit and a can-do attitude, but her past with the Overwatch team might surprise you. Before the Omnic crisis, Mei was stationed in in Overwatch's Antartica station where she —along with her team— worked to figure out the cause of the rapidly changing weather. One night, a terrible storm hit, and Mei was forced into cryostasis chambers in an attempt to survive until help arrived.  Help never arrived, and Mei's cryostasis pod was the only one that managed to stay functioning. Every one of her team members suffocated in their pods. Obviously, we can imagine the horror of the event. Decades later, she awoke to find her team gone, Overwatch disbanded and a completely different world than she remembered.

3 Junkrat And Roadhog Aren't "Heroes"

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There are currently 24 playable heroes in Overwatch, and since there is no singleplayer campaign, we don't know much about the backstory of each hero. Many of the playable heroes don't really look like people who intend to fight crime and save lives like heroes usually do, and that's because not every playable hero is indeed a "hero." Junkrat and Roadhog, for instance, are far from heroes. Together, they ride around committing acts of arson, burglary, and other crimes. Junkrat hired Roadhog as a bodyguard due to an item he came across that attracted the attention of bounty hunters and criminals who wanted it for themselves. It's unknown what Junkrat and Roadhog are out to achieve, but one thing is for sure, wherever they are, chaos is bound to unleash.

2 Australia Was Almost Wiped Out

The entire world was drastically affected by the Omnic crisis. Naturally, some areas had it worse than others, but no area suffered utter destruction like Australia did. Australia suffered the most casualties and overall damage than anywhere else on earth, and it was almost completely wiped out. After the conflict had ended, the government offered Australia's omnium supply to the Omnics in an attempt to create peace once again. What they didn't know, is that Australia still had residents that survived the radiation and destruction. These residents scavenged to survive and eventually, they formed a group called the Australian Liberation Front to take back the homes that they lost during the war.

1 Junkrat Suffered From Radiation Exposure

'via playoverwatch.com'

Junkrat, although he isn't a hero for justice and freedom like Winston and Tracer are, is the crazy pyrotechnic that we all know and love. While he is pretty crazy, he wasn't always that way. Well, maybe he was a little mad, but lingering radiation definitely didn't help his mental state. Junkrat was part of a group called the junkers that were survivors of the omnium explosion in Australia. Junkrat spent his days scavenging for metal and components from the left-over ruins of the irradiated omnium. The exposure to radiation turned him from mad, into downright crazed with explosive tendencies. His one redeeming quality was his skill with explosives.