Game Director of Overwatch Addresses Controversy

Overwatch, the upcoming FPS from Blizzard Entertainment, has recently become the focus of a major controversy regarding Tracer’s Over the Shoulder” pose.

What would be considered a minor complaint on the Overwatch forums was been blown way out of proportion. Fuel was added to the fire when game director Jeff Kaplan made a statement for the removal of the image from the game. Now Kaplan has addressed the issue that has risen into a widely discussed debate that’s still happening.

"Well, that escalated quickly…

While I stand by my previous comment, I realize I should have been more clear. As the game director, I have final creative say over what does or does not go into the game. With this particular decision, it was an easy one to make—not just for me, but for the art team as well. We actually already have an alternate pose that we love and we feel speaks more to the character of Tracer. We weren’t entirely happy with the original pose, it was always one that we wrestled with creatively. That the pose had been called into question from an appropriateness standpoint by players in our community did help influence our decision—getting that kind of feedback is part of the reason we’re holding a closed beta test—but it wasn’t the only factor. We made the decision to go with a different pose in part because we shared some of the same concerns, but also because we wanted to create something better.

We wouldn’t do anything to sacrifice our creative vision for Overwatch, and we’re not going to remove something solely because someone may take issue with it. Our goal isn’t to water down or homogenize the world, or the diverse cast of heroes we’ve built within it. We have poured so much of our heart and souls into this game that it would be a travesty for us to do so.

We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision, and that’s okay. That’s what these kinds of public tests are for. This wasn’t pandering or caving, though. This was the right call from our perspective, and we think the game will be just as fun the next time you play it."

One thing is for certain, more people are talking about Overwatch more than ever before.

Overwatch is set to release on May 24 for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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