Overwatch

Overwatch is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: Overwatch was released in 2016, and Overwatch 2 was released in 2022. Both games feature hero-based combat between two teams of players vying over various objectives, along with other traditional gameplay modes. With the launch of Overwatch 2, the roster of selectable heroes has grown to 35. Released in 2016, 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. In addition to more traditional fan art, the game also spawned fan-produced pornographic content which attracted considerable media attention. Blizzard helped launch and promote an esports scene surrounding the game, including an annual Overwatch World Cup, as well as a league and its developmental minor league, which borrowed elements found in traditional American sports leagues. In 2022, a sequel was released. Overwatch is set sixty years into the future 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. During this period, humanity prospered as omnics helped stabilize society. The Omnic Crisis involved "omniums" (large facilities that churned out omnics) beginning to produce hostile omnics, many of which were bastion units. These hostile omnics began attacking humans, beginning their assault in Russia. Individual nations initially responded to the crisis with their own programs. The United States launched the secret Soldier Enhancement Program, modifying soldiers into mercenaries.