Overwatch abbreviated as OW is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter FPS video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Overwatch was released in with a successor, Overwatch 2 , released in Both games feature hero-based combat between two teams of players vying over various objectives, along with other traditional gameplay modes. Released in , the first video game in the series lacked a traditional story mode. Instead, Blizzard employed a transmedia storytelling strategy to disseminate lore regarding the game's characters, releasing comics and other literary media, as well as animated media that includes short films.
The game enjoyed both critical and commercial success, and garnered a devoted following. Blizzard helped launch and promote an esports scene surrounding the game, including an annual Overwatch World Cup , as well as the Overwatch League and a minor league , which borrowed elements found in traditional American sports leagues.
Overwatch is also known for its community, which has produced a large amount of content including art, cosplay, fan fiction, anime-influenced music videos, Internet memes, and pornography featuring Overwatch characters and elements. Overwatch is set sixty years into the future [ note 1 ] of a fictionalized Earth, as well as thirty years after the "Omnic Crisis" is resolved and six years after the Petras Act is signed.
Omnics are artificial intelligence AI robots that were created to assist humans in manufacturing and global economic equality efforts. The Omnic Crisis involved "omniums" large facilities that churned out omnics beginning to produce hostile omnics, many of which were bastion units. Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes were among the most notable test subjects of the program.
Meanwhile, Germany responded to the crisis through the Crusaders, an elite force of soldiers heavily suited in armor inspired by knights and wielding weapons such as hammers. The Crusaders were led by Balderich von Adler, until he handed the reins to a young Reinhardt Willhelm following a battle in Eichenwalde. Removed from the crisis, scientists on the moon-based Horizon Lunar Colony create genetically modified animals to test long-term habitation in space. Among these animals is an ape named Winston.
