The Entire Overwatch Story Explained
Ever since Overwatch was first released by Blizzard Entertainment back in 2016, fans have been trying to figure out every bit of lore they can, getting hints and clues in bits and pieces over the years. So what's the true story behind Overwatch? Here's a look at the entire timeline explained.
In the near future, humanity is in the midst of a technological golden age. In addition to putting a science lab on the Moon to genetically engineer super-smart apes, which always works out well, we've also managed to master artificial intelligence, giving rise to an entire race of machines called Omnics.
Everything seems to be just fine and dandy… until it's not. The Omniums start malfunctioning, reawakening on their own after being shut down, and start pumping out new, hostile omnics. Humanity does not do well with this, starting a war between humans and machines called the Omnic Crisis.
Meanwhile, on the moon, the super-intelligent apes start their own revolution. A peaceful ape named Winston who wanted no part of the revolt builds a rocket to get him back to Earth, and a genetically modified hamster named Hammond hitches a ride. It's a mess.
At first, every country has their own special approach to the Omnic Crisis, including giant piloted Mechs in Russia, and the Crusaders, heavily armored warriors patterned after knights, in Germany. In the good old US of A, scientists go the Steve Rogers route and implement a Soldier Enhancement program.
Sensing that maybe they'd have more success working together, the United Nations proposes the formation of a multinational strike team: Overwatch. The original team is led by America's first super soldiers, Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, with Egyptian sniper Ana Amari, Swedish engineer Torbjorn Lindholm, and German Crusader Reinhardt Wilhelm working under their command.
Overwatch is enormously successful, and before long, the Omnic Crisis is declared over, with only one surviving Bastion unit unaccounted for. Overwatch transitions into an international team of heroic peacekeepers, recruiting combat medic Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, ace pilot Lena "Tracer" Oxton, and good old Winston.
Overshadowed by Morrison, Reyes finds himself as the leader of Overwatch's covert ops branch, Blackwatch. He recruits some folks willing to get their hands a little dirtier for the greater good: cybernetically enhanced ninja Genji Shimada, former Deadlock Gang member and professional cowboy Jesse McCree, and controversial geneticist Moira O'Deorain.
Blackwatch becomes a crucial tool in the fight against Talon, a ruthless new terrorist organization who seem to have some sort of vested interest in restarting the Omnic Crisis. During all this, Reyes begins to resent Morrison for taking all the public adoration while he does the dirty work.
Overwatch pays for its success in huge ways. After trying and failing multiple times to kill one of Overwatch's high ranking agents, Gerard Lecroix, Talon kidnaps and brainwashes his wife, Amelie. Soon after her return, Amelie murders Gerard in his sleep, returning to Talon soon after, becoming a sniper codenamed Widowmaker and taking out Overwatch founder Ana Amari by shooting her in the eye during a raid.
A malfunction during an experimental test flight causes Tracer to become fully untethered from time until Winston builds her a device to keep her literally grounded in reality. A devastating polar storm cuts off the Antarctic Watchpoint, forcing all the scientists to go into cryogenic stasis to survive.
An Omnic terrorist group called Null Sector starts a hostage situation in London, and despite the UN forbidding Overwatch from intervening, Morrison sends a team, leading to even more backlash. It all comes to a head after Reyes blatantly kills a Talon leader against orders, revealing Blackwatch to the public.
With Blackwatch exposed, the public starts demanding serious answers. The UN starts an investigation, but it doesn't go far. A huge ideological argument between Morrison and Reyes at Overwatch headquarters in Switzerland culminates in a massive explosion that utterly demolishes the facility, leaving both commanders presumed dead.
Overwatch is disbanded, with its heroes scattered across the globe. All further operations are considered illegal, bringing this new age of heroes to its explosive end. A few months later, several decommissioned Overwatch facilities are broken into by a masked, super-powered individual who steals equipment, most notably a prototype pulse rifle.
After that gets swiped, Overwatch's most prominent enemies start turning up dead. The culprit is Jack Morrison, now calling himself Soldier 76 and carrying on the fight without his team. He's not the only one. Reyes, having also survived the explosion, hooks up with a now fully discredited Moira and subjects himself to her genetic experiments that result in his cells decaying and regenerating at a hyper-accelerated rate, allowing him to become incorporeal at will.
Calling himself Reaper, he joins up with Talon, seeking revenge on his former allies. In the meantime, Overwatch's heroics still inspire an entire generation to stand up for what's right. "Uh. Don't worry, loves… Cavalry’s here!” When the Vishkar corporation attempts to gentrify Rio de Janeiro, a DJ named Lucio, steals some of their technology and modifies it as weaponry to help his people fight back, becoming a superstar in the music world.
When South Korea is attacked by a gigantic Omnic monstrosity that rises from the ocean, the country winds up hiring pro gamers to pilot mech units as a five-person task force codenamed MEKA. The best of the bunch, Hana Song, takes the name D.Va and goes on to become an international celebrity for live-streaming her exploits.
On the other side, the few of the remaining Omnics wind up settling in Nepal and embrace a peaceful religion devoted to enlightenment. More mysteriously, a sniper named Shrike starts making coordinated hits against Talon in Egypt, and after finally being confronted by Soldier 76, she reveals her identity: Ana Amari, who, unbeknownst to her daughter Pharah, is still alive.
That brings us to Overwatch's present. A second Omnic Crisis begins in Russia. Terrorist attacks are widespread in the US and Europe. The world's climate is going haywire. Gang violence is common. Australia, from the looks of things, goes full Mad Max.
Winston, still keeping the home fires burning at Overwatch's outpost in Gibraltar, is attacked by Reaper, who's attempting to steal a list of remaining Overwatch agents. While Winston manages to fight him off, it's the last straw for the big guy. He issues an emergency recall for the surviving soldiers, and Tracer, Torbjorn, Genji, Mercy, McCree, and Reinhardt respond.
“The world is changing once again, Hanzo. And it’s time to pick a side." At the same time, the cryostasis locks in Antarctica are released, and climatologist Mei-Ling Zhou — sadly, the only survivor — rededicates herself to Overwatch's work on the environment.
Word eventually gets out to the rest of the world when Reaper and Widowmaker attempt to steal a gauntlet belonging to one of Talon's leaders, Doomfist, from a museum. Tracer and Winston stop the heist, but the surveillance footage leaks, letting the world know that heroes are still out there, and the world needs them more than ever.
Talon recruits the genius hacker Sombra from the Los Muertos gang, but she may have her own agenda. When Torbjorn gets called back to duty, his daughter Brigitte follows as the "squire" for her godfather, Reinhardt. An attack on an airport in omnic/human utopia Numbani spurs child prodigy Efi Oladele to create the protection robot Orisa.
The world's strongest woman, Aleksandra Zaryanova, is recruited to help defend Russia. Meanwhile, Winston's stowaway buddy Hammond is still in Australia, making a name for himself in combat, under the name Wrecking Ball. Everything is coming together, with plenty of scores to settle and a larger crisis looming over everyone… ...including you.
