Blizzard has released a new Overwatch short story ‘Bastet’. Although it focuses on Ana’s background but it has revealed that Soldier 76 is gay in Overwatch making him yet another LGBTQ character in the game.
The short story was released by Overwtch’s official Twitter account and it is written by game’s lead writer Micheal Chu. The newest short story spins around Ana and her backstory about she became friends with Soldier 76 aka Jackson Morrison. Apart from this the short story also sheds some light on Ana’s previous love Vincent.
The main thing that this short story confirms in that Soldier 76 is indeed gay. This was earlier revealed by Blizzard that a number of Overwatch Heroes are LGBTQ. This was done in order to have a diverse character roster in the game and not letting anyone feel left out. Having LGBTQ characters in the game ensures that everyone feels included in the game.
Chu’s official word on having a diverse roster were
It’s very important for us to have diversity and inclusiveness of all types, and that includes LGBT characters. There are definitely LGBT heroes [in Overwatch] — that’s multiple heroes.
You can check out the latest short story below if you have not seen it yet.
BASTET: A fierce protector arises from the shadows . . .
🔎 https://t.co/YLLH1vb5XB pic.twitter.com/OcA6mceQP1
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) January 7, 2019
Earlier, Blizzard had revealed via a comic that Tracer had spent time with her girlfriend Emily which had revealed that Tracer is also a LGBTQ character in the game. After the short story, Micheal Chu announced that Soldier 76 is indeed gay via a Tweet. You can check it out below.
Thanks for all the messages about “Bastet”!
Jack and Vincent were in a romantic relationship many years ago. Both identify as gay. ❤️
— Michael Chu 🎉💼 (@westofhouse) January 7, 2019
Fans of the game have been giving out mixed reactions over this new reveal. Some of the fans are quite happy that Overwatch is going for a diverse character roster however some of the fans are simply mad that both Tracer and Soldier 76 were main mascots for Overwatch and now both of them have been declared gay.
Some fans are simply mad that such things should be kept out of video games as it is totally not important for video games to rotate around such discussions and lore. Video games are based on fiction and applying such attributes to them are simply attributing such terms to fiction.
What do you think about Blizzard’s newest short story and the big reveal that Soldier 76 is gay? Let us know in the comments section below.
