Blizzard Commits To Changing New Overwatch Hero's Appearance Following "Same Face" Criticism

Amid criticism that new Overwatch hero Anran looks too much like other female heroes and not enough like her own previous appearance in an animated short, Blizzard has committed to updating the hero’s appearance during Season 1.

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller announced the upcoming change in a video on social media, saying that the team is currently planning how to make Anran “look and feel more like the fierce older sister that we all envision her to be.” While he says the team is proud of the work that has gone into the hero, “we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in game.”

Keller adds that this change has been in discussion internally since last week, but that the team “wanted to wait until we had confirmation of exactly what we can do.” For now, there are few details on what changes will be made and when they will be live in game, though Keller says that the studio hopes to be able to make this update during Season 1.

Anran is one of five new characters being added to Overwatch with Season 1, which also serves as a soft reboot for the game formerly known as Overwatch 2. The fire-themed damage-dealer is the older sister of Season 18 hero Wuyang, and was first depicted in a cinematic last year introducing her brother. When Anran’s in-game model was revealed to have a much cuter face than her animated form, resembling existing heroes like Juno or Kiriko, fans criticised the “same face” design. Even Anran’s voice actor, Fareeha, joined in calls to redesign Anran to better match her earlier appearance as Wuyang’s older sister.

Blizzard has also fended off accusations that Overwatch’s character designs have been getting sexier and less diverse over time, claiming that the move towards tall, longer-limbed characters is more a matter of technical ease than aesthetic choice.

Overwatch Season 1 will bring a lot of changes to the game when it launches on February 10, and fans are hopeful that it is a step in the right direction for the classic hero shooter. Many are taking the Anran announcement as a positive sign that Blizzard is willing to listen to community feedback, taking a step towards restoring Overwatch to its former glory.

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