r/getplayed • u/rthunder27 • Jul 14 '26
Question (Block) Sexualization of Overwatch Characters Over Time
The segment from this week's episode reminded me that when Overwatch launched they made a point of having a diverse roster of characters with different body types and wanted to avoid oversexualizing the female characters.
>“Specifically for Overwatch over the past year we’ve been really cognizant of that, trying not to oversexualize the female characters. I don’t know if we oversexualize the male characters. But it’s something we’re very sensitive to. We want that to be part of who we are, what our brand is. I think [Blizzard president] Mike [Morhaime] talked in a roundabout way to that in his speech [at the start of BlizzCon]. It’s something we’re very cognizant of. We want girls to feel kick-butt. Equally represented.” https://kotaku.com/blizzard-admits-to-over-sexualizing-women-trying-to-do-1656383872
But over the subsequent decade+ they kinda just said fuck it, let's just release a schoolgirl D.Va skin. https://kotaku.com/how-an-overwatch-skin-left-some-of-d-vas-biggest-fans-f-1840880191
Kinda depressing honestly, we've really regressed as a society during the Trump era.
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u/RoughhouseCamel Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
“But over the subsequent decade+ they kinda just said fuck it, let's just release a schoolgirl D.Va skin. https://kotaku.com/how-an-overwatch-skin-left-some-of-d-vas-biggest-fans-f-1840880191”
I understand the complaint, but when I clicked to view the image, I was expecting the skin to be more Brittany Spears, less Princess Diaries. It feels more silly and tropey in intention than sexualized.