History Trivia / Overwatch

* NoExportForYou: A partial example. ''Overwatch'' was released in Japan for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and PC, but not for the [[AmericansHateTingle inviable]] UsefulNotes/XboxOne.

* SpoiledByTheMerchandise: The existence of a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port was first hinted at by [[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/08/an_overwatch_switch_carry_case_exists_no_prizes_for_guessing_what_comes_next an Amazon listing]] for an officially licensed, ''Overwatch''-branded carrying case for the system (that was taken down within a day after going up). (It would then be subject to two more traditional {{Content Leak}}s before its official announcement.)

** ''Overwatch (2)'' (along with all other Creator/{{Blizzard|Entertainment}} games) became unable to be played in China after Blizzard's licensing deal with longtime partner [=NetEase=] (who handles their distribution in the country) ended in January 2023, with attempts at renegotiation reportedly falling through amidst the chaos at Creator/ActivisionBlizzard, especially during the approaching acquisition by Microsoft. However, in April 2024, both companies announced that they reached a new deal, and the games would be returning to China after a year-long absence.

* BannedInChina: The ''Reflections'' comic is unavailable in Russia due to laws against LGBT-themes toward children.

* MemeAcknowledgment: Dad: 76 became an AscendedMeme and Blizzard has acknowledged the jokes about Roadhog and Junkrat being [[https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/832725625387393024 compared to Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King.]]

* PromotedFanboy: Three cases (so far):

** ''Overwatch 2'' itself ended up experiencing a great deal of this as a mix of [[ExecutiveMeddling corporate politics]] and logistical circumstances. In January 2022 (shortly after the announcement of Creator/{{Microsoft}} acquiring Creator/ActivisionBlizzard), ''Overwatch'' producer Tracy Kennedy [[https://gamerant.com/overwatch-2-delays-why-bobby-kotick/ publicly called out Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick]] for poor management, alleging that he would regularly shove large projects onto the ''Overwatch'' team, forcing them into overtime [[DevelopmentHell only to cancel said projects]], costing the production of ''2'' months at a time and creating a massive turnover rate (including the losses of director Jeff Kaplan and executive producer Chacko Sonny). [[https://ftw.usatoday.com/2022/04/overwatch-2-interview-devs-geoff-goodman-brandon-brennan Hero designers Geoff Goodman and Brandon Brennan also relayed]] how the one-two punch of Kaplan's sudden retirement and the highly-publicized workplace scandals at Activison-Blizzard left a massive morale hit to the team. The game's ill-fated [=PvE=] elements were downsized significantly due to a combination of anxiety surrounding the game's long-term future (the aforementioned financial issues with the Overwatch League included) as well as development revealing them to be logistically unfeasible, with the scope of their goals becoming far too big to solve. Director Aaron Keller compared this directly to ''Overwatch'''s predecessor project ''Titan'', which similarly was expected to include big gameplay elements like massive hero-exclusive talent trees and high reliability, but was also crushed under its sheer size -- the ''Overwatch 2'' team believed they were in a better position [[RefittedForSequel to reintegrate those elements into the successful game that did properly see the light of day]], but thanks to more unfortunate setbacks [[HistoryRepeats left them still unable to realistically bring it all together]]. The final nail in the coffin surrounding the PVE content in particular was [[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-22/blizzard-entertainment-makes-big-changes-as-overwatch-2-struggles the laying off of a majority of developers working on that side of the game in January 2024]] (itself an extension of mass layoffs across Activision-Blizzard and Microsoft, though the reportedly low sales of the Story Missions in 2023 probably didn't help), with Blizzard officially confirming in March that plans for future [=PvE=] content as planned had been scrapped.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ''Overwatch 2'''s promises of [=PvE=] content were massively screwed over from extensive ExecutiveMeddling, with a domino effect that [[TroubledProduction severely hampered the game's developers to properly deliver on it]], forcing them to renege on and significantly downsize certain promises until it ultimately fell into a DevelopmentHell it would never return from. Despite [=PvE=] having already been announced as the major new expansion for ''Overwatch 2'', Bobby Kotick repeatedly wasted much of the ''Overwatch'' team's development time on irrelevant side projects and forced them to implement certain approaches to the game's monetization model that were internally very unpopular, with many feeling that they would only alienate their playerbase. Those concerns appear to have been validated when the (already-downsized) Story Missions came out in 2023 and reportedly didn't sell well, resulting in the ''Overwatch'' team [[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-22/blizzard-entertainment-makes-big-changes-as-overwatch-2-struggles receiving zero in the company's biannual bonuses]] (itself the result of an internally unpopular, Kotick-enforced policy of rewarding bonuses to teams based on their projects' success rather than evenly across the company). While Kotick was eventually forced out of Activison-Blizzard at the end of December following Microsoft's acquisition of the company, they still ended up facing mass layoffs in January 2024 that included a majority of those involved in further [=PvE=] content, which was publicly confirmed to have been the killing blow for that side of the game.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ''Overwatch 2'''s promises of [=PvE=] content were massively screwed over from extensive ExecutiveMeddling, with a domino effect that [[TroubledProduction severely hampered the game's developers to properly deliver on it]], forcing them to renege on and significantly downsize certain promises until it ultimately fell into a DevelopmentHell it would never return from. Despite [=PvE=] having already been announced as the major new expansion for ''Overwatch 2'', Bobby Kotick repeatedly wasted much of the ''Overwatch'' team's development time on irrelevant side projects and forced them to implement certain approaches to the game's monetization model that were internally very unpopular, with many feeling that they would only alienate their playerbase. Those concerns appear to have been validated when the (already-downsized) Story Missions came out in 2023 and reportedly didn't sell well, resulting in the ''Overwatch'' team [[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-22/blizzard-entertainment-makes-big-changes-as-overwatch-2-struggles receiving zero in the company's biannual bonuses]] (itself the result of an internally unpopular, Kotick-enforced policy of rewarding bonuses to teams based on their projects' success rather than evenly across the company). While Kotick was eventually forced out of Activison-Blizzard at the end of December following Microsoft's acquisition of the company, the company still ended up facing mass layoffs in January 2024 that included a majority of those involved in further [=PvE=] content, which was publicly confirmed to have been the killing blow for that side of the game.

* ScheduleSlip: While ''Overwatch 2'' wasn't officially announced in 2019 with an expected release date, the interim between its reveal and expected release date was much longer than what Blizzard (and fans) were hoping for. As development shifted greatly onto ''2'', the presently-live ''Overwatch'' took a backseat, still receiving rebalances and event-based cosmetics, but heroes, maps[[note]]Mostly in terms of those for competitive rotation -- there were a handful of Arena maps built from recycled assets of preexisting maps[[/note]], and other major gameplay updates were put on pause in anticipation for the sequel. When combined with [[TroubledProduction external problems compromising their internal production forecast and necessitating delays]], the usual 2-3 month gap between new hero/map releases ended up pushed to around 3 ''years'' with ''Overwatch 2''[='=]s official release date in late 2022. Even with that forecast, the future of ''2'''s much-advertised PVE content wasn't fully confirmed due to additional production woes, eventually ending up diving into DevelopmentHell and significantly downsized.

** ''Overwatch 2'' itself ended up experiencing a great deal of this as a mix of [[ExecutiveMeddling corporate politics]] and logistical circumstances. In January 2022 (shortly after the announcement of Creator/{{Microsoft}} acquiring Creator/ActivisionBlizzard), ''Overwatch'' producer Tracy Kennedy [[https://gamerant.com/overwatch-2-delays-why-bobby-kotick/ publicly called out Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick]] for poor management, alleging that he would regularly shove large projects onto the ''Overwatch'' team, forcing them into overtime [[DevelopmentHell only to cancel said projects]], costing the production of ''2'' months at a time and creating a massive turnover rate (including the losses of director Jeff Kaplan and executive producer Chacko Sonny). [[https://ftw.usatoday.com/2022/04/overwatch-2-interview-devs-geoff-goodman-brandon-brennan Hero designers Geoff Goodman and Brandon Brennan also relayed]] how the one-two punch of Kaplan's sudden retirement and the highly-publicized workplace scandals at Activison-Blizzard left a massive morale hit to the team. The game's ill-fated [=PvE=] elements were downsized significantly due to a combination of anxiety surrounding the game's long-term future (the aforementioned financial issues with the Overwatch League included) as well as development revealing them to be logistically unfeasible, with the scope of their goals becoming far too big to solve. Director Aaron Keller compared this directly to ''Overwatch'''s predecessor project ''Titan'', which similarly was expected to include big gameplay elements like massive hero-exclusive talent trees and high reliability, but was also crushed under its sheer size -- the ''Overwatch 2'' team believed they were in a better position [[RefittedForSequel to reintegrate those elements into the successful game that did properly see the light of day]], but thanks to more unfortunate setbacks [[HistoryRepeats left them still unable to realistically bring it all together]].

** According to claims by former producer Tracy Kennedy, ''Overwatch 2'' ended up facing tremendous meddling before it launched thanks to Creator/ActivisionBlizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who would often halt progress by pulling developers away to develop side projects that ultimately went nowhere, wasting months of their development time that ultimately resulted in their announced ambitions (including extensive [=PvE=]) being downsized. It was also reported that Kotick mandated the switch to the free-to-play release strategy and features like a battle pass and requiring new heroes to be unlocked, changes that were widely cited as having resulted in massive burnout and developer turnover due to just how unpopular they were. Somewhat tellingly, come the season 10 kickoff in March 2024 (the first new season after Kotick was officially booted from Activision-Blizzard following the Creator/{{Microsoft}} acquisition), among the first things the ''Overwatch'' team announced would be them undoing the pay-to-play hero mechanics and restructuring the game's monetization model in order to be more generous and accessible to players.

** Unsurprisingly due to ''Overwatch'''s success, the game has inspired other {{Hero Shooter}}s with similar gameplay. Namely ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' which can be described as "''Overwatch'' in a HighFantasy setting", which was accused of riding on the coattails of ''Overwatch'' since release for having similar gameplay mechanics and some character similarities, though ''Paladins'' was in development prior to ''Overwatch'' being shown, it can't be denied some inspiration was taken, which the developers themselves have admitted at times..
*** And ''VideoGame/LawBreakers'' (which features similar gameplay mechanics, albeit with more gore, profanity, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "zero gravity"]]). The former proved successful, despite some stigma, the latter... not so much, with ''Lawbreakers'' shuttering its doors on September 2019.

** The [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming Overwatch League]] got off to a strong start and was marked for enormous plans over the coming years, but by 2020 began experiencing several unexpected snags that had direct consequences on the game itself. 2020 was originally marked to be the year Blizzard expanded to an ambitious homestand format that involved more in-person events across the world, but not only did several popular casters and talent depart before season premiere for various reasons (from conflicts with management to personal life making the new travel demands unfeasible), the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic broke out, throwing everything into chaos. Arrangements were made to begin playing the season remotely, but all homestand events were cancelled worldwide, and the major logistical shift proved too taxing for some teams, primarily the NA-based teams with all-Korean rosters and staff — the Vancouver Titans were so wracked with conflict between them and management that the entire roster departed not long after. Things wouldn't get easier for the League in the following years — the highly-publicized workplace lawsuit against Creator/ActivisionBlizzard in 2021 caused nearly all sponsors to pull out of the League, and in late 2022, Blizzard's partnership with Chinese distributor [=NetEase=] ended after their contracts expired and negotiations amidst increasingly strict national standards and the prospective buyout by Creator/{{Microsoft}} earlier in the year fell through, leaving many of Blizzard's games — ''Overwatch'' included — to be effectively BannedInChina. The 2023 season saw many further shifts in teams changing region, changes in Chinese pro-am interactions in the wake of the ban from Chinese broadcasting, one team (the Chengdu Hunters) exiting the league altogether, and Blizzard starting a multi-team collective bargaining process in order to mitigate the high costs amidst continual viewership challenges. Ultimately, however, this wasn't enough to help recover from the damage, and with the end of the Overwatch League's 2023 season came the announcement that it would be its final one, with Blizzard announcing that ''Overwatch'''s esports scene would continue under a more traditional structure moving forward.

* IKnewIt:
** Many correctly guessed that Brigitte was Torbjörn's daugther, which was confirmed in ''Honor and Glory''.
** After a brief but initially unconfirmed cameo in "Masquerade" of a man that look suspiciously similar to Sanjay Korpal of Vishkar (who appeared in "A Better World"), it was believed it actually was him on Talon's council. Moira's origin story proved this correct.