Available for free, it's only natural that the number of people playing Overwatch 2 will continue to increase by a tremendous amount. When something like that happens, especially with an older series, people can be a bit lost with everything going on, and that issue becomes bigger when you remember this is a multiplayer game. Most of its lore is tackled outside the game, with animated shorts and comics, for instance. Still, there are also secrets hidden within the game itself.
Here you can see some curiosities about the series, both from a gameplay perspective, character interactions, or background details that aren't directly mentioned in the game itself but rather hidden between the areas and extra content.
5 The Omnic Crisis
This name gets tossed around quite often, but not many details about it are given. There was a crisis, and the UN created Overwatch to fight such a crisis. But what was it? Long story short, a special type of robot was created called Omnics, and they were meant to work for Humans. However, they became sentient and weren't a fan of taking orders.
The fight between Humans and Omnics was intense and led to countless casualties. The fight is already over, and most countries have peace between Humans and Omnics. Still, there's also the possibility of another Crisis because of a group of rogue Omnics called the Null Sector.
4 Overwatch, Blackwatch, And Talon
There are common names in the series, glossed over without much information. They are essentially the good guys and the bad guys. But what are these groups, and how do they interact with one another?
Overwatch is the most obvious one; A task force created to handle the Omnic Crisis, something they succeeded at. But then they were dismantled and only now are coming back. If they were successful, then what happened? Well, we don't have all the details yet. Overwatch started to do poorly on public opinion because of Blackwatch (a Black Ops Division led by Gabriel Reyes), who began to go a bit off the rails to fight Talon, which is likely the biggest criminal organization of the game.
Here's where things get muddied, though. There was a conspiracy that blew up one of Overwatch headquarters, where Gabriel and Commander Jack Morrison allegedly died. Some Blackwatch members, such as Moira and Gabriel (now Reaper), became part of Talon for reasons we still don't fully know. There is a lot of information missing there, and we'll hopefully get these details when the story missions from Overwatch 2 start.
3 Volskaya, Lumerico, And Vishkar
Here are three more names, with little information about them other than the basics. In fact, you may not even see anything about them from just playing the games, as the clues about these companies are pretty scattered. Still, they play roles in some characters' backstories, and some even affect multiple characters and how they relate to one another.
Volskaya Industries is a Russian company famous for creating Syvatogor Mechs, which are gigantic robots operated by people, and Russia used them to fight against the Omnics during the Crisis. You may remember these robots from Sombra's animated short, where she temporarily controls the hand of one of these robots.
Lumerico, or rather LumériCo, is an energy company from Mexico. We go to one of its power plants on the Dorado map. Sombra also got involved, leaking numerous documents proving shady business, and became a target for that.
Lastly, Vishkar Corporation is a multinational that produces hard light, which they use in architecture to build many things quickly. This hard light is what Symmetra uses in her abilities, as she is a Vishkar employee. Though they help, their need for order makes them very possessive of the places they want to "fix," creating a lot of problems where they go as well.
2 What Are The Relationships Among The Characters?
With all the characters interacting through the matches, we sometimes forget that their relationships aren't as developed as they seem. While some are close to one another, some characters don't even know each other. Some relationships are obvious, such as Genji, who knows a lot of people (Hanzo, Mercy, Zenyatta, Cassidy, Reaper, and Moira, to name a few), but some characters have never interacted lore-wise. For instance, only in the first Overwatch 2 trailer do Reinhardt and Mei meet one another.
Outside the obvious relationships, some characters have already made small interactions. For example:
- Zarya went after Sombra for attacking Volskaya.
- Torbjorn is currently taking care of Bastion.
- Lucio uses Vishkar technology, though it's hard to say if he personally knows Symmetra.
- Symmetra and Zenyatta know each other, as she helped rebuild a temple Vishkar destroyed.
- After the recall, Cassidy brought Ana, Pharah, Baptiste, Zarya, and D.Va together.
1 Removed Maps
An interesting detail from the game itself rather than lore is that quite a few maps were "removed" from the game. All maps from the Assault mode, also known as 2CP (two control points), were removed for balance reasons. Most of the fan base begged for these maps to be removed from Ranked because, according to them, these map layouts gave an unfair advantage to the defending team. They include Hanamura, Paris, Volskaya Industries, Temple of Anubis, and Horizon Lunar Colony.
A few Escort maps have also disappeared, which is curious since the mode itself still appears in both Ranked and Quick Play. No one has said why these maps were removed, either. They are Havana, Numbani, and Rialto.
All that said, these maps weren't deleted. After all, that would be quite a waste of resources. They were simply removed from Ranked and Quick Play. You can play in these maps by creating a custom game. So they are still accessible in a way; in case you're new to Overwatch, you have quite a selection of maps to check out.