Overwatch fans united in record time to get a new hero’s design changed, and I love everything about it

When it comes to live service games, sometimes it takes a while for changes to happen, with so many moving parts at any studio. One such studio that's gotten quite good at live service, though, is Blizzard Entertainment. And the way the Overwatch team has acted on some criticism over the past five days must be commended, along with how most of the situation has been handled. Image via Blizzard Entertainment During last week's Overwatch Showcase, which revealed five new heroes coming to the game later today, along with a number of other overhauls to the base game (like removing the 2 from the title), fans were quick to point out that one of the game's new heroes looks a bit different from what they were expecting. New Damage hero Anran, older sister to Overwatch Support hero Wuyang, indeed looks quite different from her initial appearance in a comic last year. And many players and fans were quick to point it out, showcasing how her face is eerily similar to other heroes such as D.Va, Kiriko, and Juno. Many fans called out how her face is unnecessarily innocent-looking, along with being different, with one saying that her strong older sister design was replaced in-game with a "male gaze stereotyped harmless, cute Asian girl" aesthetic. One prominent Overwatch fan, content creator Fareeha, also happens to be the English voice actress for Anran, and she posted a very respectful and composed video calling for changes to be made (the video has since been deleted). And now, last night, game director Aaron Keller confirmed that Anran will be redesigned sometime during season one, which should run from today through the middle of April. "The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce, older sister that we all envision her to be," Keller said. "We're so proud of the work that our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in season one, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game."https://twitter.com/Adone0808/status/2019663798668599427https://twitter.com/ColdRamen1724/status/2019738263653867772 The Overwatch team's quick response to the situation is admirable, as is their aim to have such a quick turnaround on the design. Everything at a big dev studio like this takes time, so it won't happen overnight, but Anran's design change should hopefully represent the character a bit better and add some more variety to the overall hero design in the game. The important thing is to be kind and respectful when it comes to delivering feedback on something you'd like changed in a video game, and then these sorts of things are more likely to happen. By and large, the Overwatch community has been just that in this situation, and it's been nice to see it all materialize. The post Overwatch fans united in record time to get a new hero’s design changed, and I love everything about it appeared first on Destructoid.

Feb 10, 2026 - 23:49

Overwatch fans united in record time to get a new hero’s design changed, and I love everything about it

When it comes to live service games, sometimes it takes a while for changes to happen, with so many moving parts at any studio.

One such studio that's gotten quite good at live service, though, is Blizzard Entertainment. And the way the Overwatch team has acted on some criticism over the past five days must be commended, along with how most of the situation has been handled.

Image via Blizzard Entertainment During last week's Overwatch Showcase, which revealed five new heroes coming to the game later today, along with a number of other overhauls to the base game (like removing the 2 from the title), fans were quick to point out that one of the game's new heroes looks a bit different from what they were expecting.

New Damage hero Anran, older sister to Overwatch Support hero Wuyang, indeed looks quite different from her initial appearance in a comic last year. And many players and fans were quick to point it out, showcasing how her face is eerily similar to other heroes such as D.Va, Kiriko, and Juno.

Many fans called out how her face is unnecessarily innocent-looking, along with being different, with one saying that her strong older sister design was replaced in-game with a "male gaze stereotyped harmless, cute Asian girl" aesthetic.

One prominent Overwatch fan, content creator Fareeha, also happens to be the English voice actress for Anran, and she posted a very respectful and composed video calling for changes to be made (the video has since been deleted). And now, last night, game director Aaron Keller confirmed that Anran will be redesigned sometime during season one, which should run from today through the middle of April.

"The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce, older sister that we all envision her to be," Keller said. "We're so proud of the work that our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in season one, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game."

https://twitter.com/Adone0808/status/2019663798668599427https://twitter.com/ColdRamen1724/status/2019738263653867772 The Overwatch team's quick response to the situation is admirable, as is their aim to have such a quick turnaround on the design. Everything at a big dev studio like this takes time, so it won't happen overnight, but Anran's design change should hopefully represent the character a bit better and add some more variety to the overall hero design in the game.

The important thing is to be kind and respectful when it comes to delivering feedback on something you'd like changed in a video game, and then these sorts of things are more likely to happen. By and large, the Overwatch community has been just that in this situation, and it's been nice to see it all materialize.

The post Overwatch fans united in record time to get a new hero’s design changed, and I love everything about it appeared first on Destructoid.

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