Overwatch – 10 Years, More Heroes, Big Updates | Official Xbox Podcast

SPEAKER 1: Games in this podcast range from E to M.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Hey everyone, welcome in to the Official Xbox Podcast, the only podcast coming to you from inside Xbox. And today we are diving deep into some big updates to one of my favorite games over the past decade, Overwatch. It's one of my go-to games, and I'm so excited to have, from Blizzard, Senior Game Producer Kenny Hudson and Senior Production Manager Kim Horn. Kim, Kenny, welcome to the podcast.

KENNY HUDSON: Hey, thanks for having us.

KIM HORN: Thanks.

KENNY HUDSON: Great to be here.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Thank you for being here. I will try to temper my excitement, because I am very, very much looking forward to jumping into this conversation, talking with you guys about Overwatch. First off, how are you? How you guys doing? How are things?

KENNY HUDSON: Doing great. Loving the weather up here.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That can't possibly be true.

KENNY HUDSON: I'm a big fan. Big fan.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, really?

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay. Well, you're half -- what are we at? We're in February, so halfway through the long dark, as we call it up here. I'm ready to get the heck out of here. It's a double-edged sword. You know, I'm a big winter sports guy, love snowboarding, so it's like that's my escape, but at the same time, like, I look like a vampire, I feel like a vampire. I'm very much looking forward to later sunsets.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: But thanks for making the journey from California, you know. Really appreciate it.

KIM HORN: Yeah, of course.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Well, let's dive into it. I know there's a ton to cover. Overwatch having its 10-year anniversary. I mean, this is like a decade of just big moments, memes, players, I mean, everything you can imagine. Obviously a huge deal to have lasted a decade and to continue updating a game that long. How does the team feel about everything? How are you guys -- and what are you looking forward to most this year?

KENNY HUDSON: Well, I think the team, like, to us, it doesn't feel like it's been 10 years. It almost feels like the blink of an eye.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah. Every day is a new adventure. Every day we're evolving something. I think the team is most excited for release. I feel like we're most excited for players getting to jump into Season 21 and -- or Season 1.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, talk about that.

KENNY HUDSON: But yeah, jumping into Season 1 and, you know, seeing all the great stuff that we've been working on and the big swings we're taking.

KIM HORN: Right. Yeah, the team's like really excited right now. We're working really hard, but we can't wait for everyone to play what we have cooking and get to experience it like we have.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I'm very excited as well, and I love that you brought up it doesn't feel like 10 years, because I'm lucky enough to be asked to host this one. When they said that, I was kind of like, oh, my God, it really has been 10 years, and I still play with the group, the same group I've been playing since it launched, and, you know, I don't think any of us felt like it was 10 years, but you can certainly see the trajectory of us getting worse over the last decade. Like, it's just, I don't know, I don't want to say it's my age, but maybe I'm out of the game. Maybe I'm just losing my edge here.

KENNY HUDSON: Little bit of Hand ID thing going on (laughter). Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: And it hurts. It hurts my heart.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I just -- I find myself also just nicer in Comms, because I'm like, no one called me out. No one called me out. Great work, everybody.

KENNY HUDSON: Successful match.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Exactly, exactly. So let's talk about the name change a little bit. We're going back. It's "Overwatch." I mean, we've been sitting here for a decade in this universe, and I think, you know, it kind of makes sense. But let's talk a little bit about that.

KIM HORN: We just felt like it was the right time to change and drop the "2" and go back to where we started with just plain old "Overwatch." But, you know, it feels really good. I mean, that's how the team refers to it internally and around Blizzard, so it just felt right.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, absolutely. Overwatch is a universe, right? It's bigger than a number at this point, and definitely Season 1 kind of shows that off.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: For sure, and, I mean, between the games, like, the comics, like so much story and lore, I think it makes total sense, and, yeah, "universe" is a great way to describe it. But along with these changes, we alluded to it just a moment ago, you guys are going back to Season 1.

KIM HORN: Yeah, that's right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah. Just a nice little reset.

KIM HORN: Yeah. So starting with the new year, we're going to go back to Season 1, and with the new year's, we're going to just start, like, next year, Season 1, Season 2. We're going to have a total of six seasons this year.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, okay, wow.

KIM HORN: And, yeah, hopefully we'll have a bunch of new heroes for everyone to play.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so Season 1 kicking off February 10th. Does that sound right?

KENNY HUDSON: Yup.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay, nice. And that is a big change. It is a big change. So six seasons. And I think, you know, one of the other aspects that you guys do so well is the story. Something that really grabbed me, even in the early years, was some of those shorts and the comics that kind of came out at the beginning really sucked me in. And so we're looking at how the story's changing, and this year it's centered around Overwatch taking on Talon, which is seeing some leadership changes. Doomfist, no longer in charge. Instead, Vendetta, right?

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah.

KIM HORN: Vendetta has some ideas and some plans.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: And she's pretty new, just came out this last December?

KIM HORN: That's right.

KENNY HUDSON: That's right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome. I haven't had a chance to play with her at all, but she looks so cool. And I remember booting in and just watching that, that initial kind of comic that came with it, which, by the way, the fact that you can watch those now while you're queuing for a match, love that.

KIM HORN: Yay.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Great quality. Big fan, big fan, because I'm always sitting there like, well, what are we going to do while we wait for our (inaudible)? Yeah, no, that's a nice thing.

KIM HORN: We won it. Thank you.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love it. I really do. But I think new heroes coming to Overwatch, always an exciting time. I think you alluded to it. We're getting 10 new heroes overall, which is more than triple what we get in a normal year?

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, absolutely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That is insane.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah. Team's definitely stoked on dropping 10.

KIM HORN: This man is tired.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, how do they do it?

KENNY HUDSON: I'm very, very tired. You know, over the years, we've gotten very, very good at making heroes. And we had, like, the way that we had always done it or processes that were kind of cemented in place, and we knew what made a great Overwatch hero. And so one of the exercises that we did was, like, okay, with all the lessons and experience we have in this field, how can we do it better and faster? You know, sometimes people say you have to give up quality to make something faster, and in this case, we were like, okay, how do we solve that problem? And we just have this giant document of every lesson learned, everything that we've ever done good, bad, or otherwise and really put our heads together, and the team got to grinding out on a schedule and a process that could get us things faster. Having the narrative team help us out with building a cohesive arc that we could kind of follow to make the archetypes of these heroes around was also like a huge help.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, yeah, kind of working in tandem there.

KENNY HUDSON: Yup.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's super interesting.

KIM HORN: And our team is just awesome. They're just amazing.

KENNY HUDSON: Everyone's a fan. Everyone's stoked to make heroes. It's always when everybody gets most excited.

KIM HORN: Yeah, everyone's like so excited. Everyone wants to work on every hero.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, I love that. I mean, that's --

KIM HORN: The enthusiasm is amazing.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's really cool. That totally shines through, by the way. You should totally tell them that because I think that's, like, one thing that I think Overwatch does better than so many is just, like, you get us to care about new characters pretty quick when, you know, sometimes that's just not the case. And I'm hard pressed to remember an Overwatch hero release that wasn't, like, tell me about this character. Where are they from, what country? You know, like all the aspects. It's kind of fun to just tune in and see where they're from and, like, what their deal is because they are pretty drastic. You guys take some chances with characters. We're going to talk about one of those in particular a little later. But let's dive into the heroes specifically. Let's start with the new Tank. I'm a Tank man myself. I flex. I'm a flex player. I like to fill, but I am -- I think Tank is probably nearest and dearest to my heart. So I'd love to start there with Domina.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, Domina. So Domina, you know, fits into the Vishkar narrative theme. She's a high-level exec, that the Vishkar Corporation has strong, you know, lore ties to Symmetra and Lifeweaver.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, cool.

KENNY HUDSON: And she plays as an anchor Tank, so she builds this giant barrier that's actually broken into pieces and can get shot out by the enemy team.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, so if I focus with my teammate on a section of the barrier versus the whole thing having to come down.

KENNY HUDSON: Yup.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, so you get that barrier to last a little bit longer, and then you can play around with -- her primary fire is actually like a beam projectile combo, so it starts off as a beam and ends in a projectile shot that can travel a little farther.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay.

KENNY HUDSON: And she's got, you know, a push as a knockback that, actually, if you aim it right and, you know, hit an enemy into a wall, you'll actually stun that enemy.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Nice. And you can boop them off the map.

KENNY HUDSON: And you can boop them off the map.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: All right, all right.

KIM HORN: Got to love a good boop.

KENNY HUDSON: Awesome robot Arm assistance to, like, do the dirty work for her.

KIM HORN: Yeah, the Arm assistants are awesome. I can't wait for people to see them and hear them.

KENNY HUDSON: One of the greatest things.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, I'm excited. Is it a -- the barrier, can you shoot through it as a team, or do you also poke holes through it?

KENNY HUDSON: You can shoot through it as a team. Follows the same rules as normal barriers. So yeah, you don't break it apart or do any damage to it yourself. It is on a timer, but it's a very long timer, and it's the biggest barrier we've ever made, when all is said and done, so you can come up with some pretty interesting comps around it.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, exciting. I am, like, I play a lot of Reese. I play a lot of Ryan. He's my boy. So that sounds right up my alley. Is that where you see Domina as kind of sitting, is there with those kind of tanks where you're moving with your team? You're the front. I mean, often the tanks are kind of the front of the team, but you know what I'm saying. You're not diving as much. You're kind of staying with the group. You're setting up that wall for everyone to kind of operate around.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, absolutely. You're definitely like kind of telegraphing or, you know, setting up the site of engagement, you know, determining where your battlefield is going to be with that shield.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, that's awesome. That is so awesome. Oh, man, I'm going to be obscene with that character (laughter). That is awesome. Very exciting. Okay, shout out Tank. Let's talk DPS next. So a pair of DPS coming out. I think we have Emre and Anran?

KENNY HUDSON: Yes.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay, let's start with Emre.

KENNY HUDSON: So Emre is a hero that, you know, our players have wanted for a very long time. One of the coolest things about, you know, working on the team is that we're all fans as well. We all remember where we were when we saw the first Overwatch cinematic, and almost since that time, Emre has been on all of our wish lists. So yeah, Emre is a military-focused, rifle-carrying, almost winter soldieresque, you know, shoots, runs. He actually has an AI that has taken over his body and enhances his abilities. So he has multiple weapons. Like, he has his rifle, but then your second ability is actually a pistol that does life-steal damage.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, nice.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, which is really cool, and increases his, you know, agility and, like, the AI is taking over his body, increasing his speed, agility, can jump higher, stuff like that. He comes equipped with grenades. The primary fire is actually a little ode to Halo, almost, the battle rifle design.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, really? The burst?

KENNY HUDSON: Kind of in the same way, yeah. That was a big inspiration for it.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, cool.

KENNY HUDSON: Three-round burst. The way the projectiles work, that they're projectiles, but they make it feel like Hitscan. We're hoping players really get that familiar feeling.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love that. I love that. Maybe some people swap off bad (inaudible).

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, exactly (laughter).

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's awesome. Kind of a little bit, like, not -- I don't want to say like "soldier," but I feel like it sounds like a very approachable character. Like, I would say to someone coming to Overwatch, like, "Play soldier," you know, if you don't know -- if you don't know what Overwatch is.

KIM HORN: That's where you start.

KENNY HUDSON: You can definitely, yeah, insert Emre in there, too.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome. So another kind of super soldier. I also am getting Terminator vibes just from the sound (laughter). You know, maybe it's just the AI. That's awesome. And then Anran.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, Anran, Wuyang's sister who we introduced in his, you know, reveal cinematic. Yeah, she's joined Overwatch. She is more of a flanker style, almost like Genji a little bit. You're going to definitely have to watch out for her.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Right.

KENNY HUDSON: You know, great movement skills. Can light enemies on fire with her primary fire. So you stack up a certain amount of hits, your enemy will light on fire, and then you can do extra critical damage with her secondary fire, which is kind of like she's fanning the flames through other fan primary. Yeah, she's fantastic, and we're really excited for, like, high-skilled DPS players.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, it sounds like I'm going to be banning that character every once in a while, too (laughter). I can't stand anymore. This is a reminder, by the way, to anyone playing on console, to look up -- this is something I find with many controller players, you forget to look up and sometimes, hey, there's a character up there killing your healers. That's awesome. Does the fire do team damage?

KENNY HUDSON: No, the fire doesn't do team damage, but I will say she has one of the coolest Ultimates in the game.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, really?

KENNY HUDSON: She's actually got two.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh.

KENNY HUDSON: She has one when she's alive and running around. She'll do like a big dive into the ground, cause AOE fire damage, very athletic and, you know, this big agility. And then she also, if you die but you have your Ult up, you can actually resurrect yourself and do massive fire damage to the rest of -- to everybody standing around you.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, that's going to cause problems. I love that. I love that. That's interesting. I can't wait to see how that plays. It'll be interesting to see if people are going to be, like, saving it, you know?

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: For the overtime. You know, that's definitely like an overtime Ult, or if they're just going to be going, you know, loaded for bear there.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: so two DPS, one new Tank. That's three. I know math. We still got two new support characters, and this is in my notes. I've been instructed by my producer to separate the discussion on these two because she's very excited about one of them in particular. So let's start with Mizuki. What can you tell us about him?

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, Mizuki is a member of Kiriko's Yokai gang, yeah, inspired by the art that we kind of released way back when we released Kiriko and talked about her backstory.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: One of my favorite characters, by the way.

KENNY HUDSON: Absolutely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Well done.

KENNY HUDSON: Kills it.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: So, yeah, primary fire. He actually does healing by doing damage. Kind of a similar AOE heal mechanic to Lucio a little bit, but your primary fire is greatly going to influence how much healing you're doing around you.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, so you got to hit your shots to heal.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, so --

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Kind of like Brig a little bit.

KENNY HUDSON: A little bit, but you also have, like, a baseline passive healing that you're always kind of doing, so positioning is going to be very important for Mizuki. He can actually leave a spirit charm behind in the world, and so you go into this -- we called it, like, "spirit form" when we were developing it, but he basically cast this, leaves a charm, and he can run around. He gets increased movement speed, but then he can teleport back to what that original charm location. So it's this fun play on, oh, Winston's diving on me. Okay, I'm going to cast this, run around. He's going to chase his, you know, Dive is on cooldown, boom, now I'm going to teleport back and he forgets where I was.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, nice. Yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: So it's a pretty cool --

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Like cheeky with it.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, exactly.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Smart. I like that. I like when support -- I mean, that's just -- it's in the name, right? Like, it's more than just like you're just a heal bot. Like, if you can make plays for the rest of your team or play into someone's weaknesses like that and then let them make a mistake, catch them slipping, if you will.

KENNY HUDSON: Absolutely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That is awesome.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That sounds like a very unique -- I mean, compared to most of support, when I think about it, I feel like that's kind of out -- Mizuki's kind of out on his own.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, absolutely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Wow. That's interesting. Like, I imagine, Kim, some of these characters are kind of new to you when they come from that team.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Do you get excited just seeing what they're whipping up? And, like, I'm curious like how that collaboration works, like, from your side.

KIM HORN: Yeah, absolutely. Like, we always have, like, ideas for characters. Like, wouldn't it be cool if we had someone that did this or someone that did that or looked like this or had this backstory? So it's always kind of magical when that all comes together with, like, the ability kit and the look and the backstory. So, yeah, we always look out for those special moments to wrap that all up together.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's cool. It's got to be exciting to kind of see how the community's going to react, too, just like, oh, they're going to go crazy with this. That's awesome. All right. Just to make the producers happy, we're diving into the last one. I mean, this is going to be a fan favorite. I don't think it's any secret at this point. Like, people are excited. It's Jetpack Cat (laughs). Tell us about Jetpack Cat

KENNY HUDSON: Man.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: This is a long time coming.

KIM HORN: That fucking cat.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, that fucking cat (laughter). Jetpack Cat is long overdue.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, a team favorite, a fan favorite, something that we knew we always wanted to make, but what better time to make Jetpack Cat than when releasing four other heroes alongside.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Seriously.

KENNY HUDSON: So it's our first hero with permaflight. She doesn't have to touch the ground, ever.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Console players.

KENNY HUDSON: The coolest, funnest mechanic is actually being able to drop a tether, pick up your teammates, transport them anywhere on the battlefield. They can use, you know, all of their damaging abilities. You can set them up wherever.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Can they shoot from the tether?

KENNY HUDSON: Absolutely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, my God. This is going to be awesome.

KIM HORN: Also, cat sounds.

KENNY HUDSON: Cat sounds.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: So it's not like the hamster where --

KENNY HUDSON: No, it's not like the hamster. The jetpack won't do the talking. The cat's going to --

KIM HORN: The cat is a cat.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, you're going to know.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's so funny.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, it's fantastic. The team had a lot of fun making this hero.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's got to be such a dynamic shift to the core gameplay, like permaflight, but also like the tether. Like, I think there's going to be people just making insane plays.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah. I think you're going to see some really cool combos with existing heroes, new heroes, and that tether ability.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Clips are going to be insane.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, it's going to be great.

KIM HORN: We also got Jennifer Hale to be the cat noise voice actor.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: For real?

KIM HORN: So Ashe. Ashe is here somewhere.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yes. Another one of my favorite characters.

KIM HORN: Yeah, Ashe is the cat.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's so funny. I love the idea of like, all right, so today we're just going to be getting a few meows and some hisses from you, yeah, like the script that day of her coming in.

KIM HORN: Yeah, "meow, meow."

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, like, "You're angry here. You're angry."

KENNY HUDSON: "Now, the cat (inaudible)."

KIM HORN: Give me the Ult.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, the cat's limping, the cat's limping, the cat's dead.

KIM HORN: You're tired.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah, you're tired, you're sick. Oh, to be a voice actor. That's so funny. So, yeah, a long time coming with Jetpack Cat, but, like, I just feel like it's a good time to drop, I mean, when you're doing so much to the game, and we're going to talk kind of about some of that beyond the characters next, to introduce some drastic shifts in the gameplay of, like, how characters are going to play, it just feels like a perfect timing thing. So between the five heroes you've showed us, like, I think things are going to shift quite a lot. Like, to see the meta change so drastically in one season, I think as a fan of someone who's played so long, like, that's going to be awesome to see.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I'm very curious who gets banned, too, in the --

KIM HORN: I know. Me too.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, that's one of the parts I'm most excited for when we release, is finding out that data.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

KIM HORN: I hope it's the cat (laughter).

KENNY HUDSON: I don't.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I feel like there's going to be people banning the cat on principle just because it's --

KIM HORN: That's kind of where I'm at.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: But yeah, that's great. I mean, I'll finally get to play somber again. So we talked about the characters, but, you know, that's not the only thing coming to this kind of refresh, huge changes to gameplay. Like, I think we know our roles, DPS, Tank, Support, but now, you know, you guys are rolling out sub-roles and passives as well.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Let's talk about that.

KENNY HUDSON: Absolutely. Yeah, so we're actually introducing the sub-role passive system. So how this is going to work is, you know, for years we've had passives under the main three roles, Tank, Support, Damage, and those don't always suit every hero equally in those roles across the board. So we set out to kind of solve that by doing some more specific groupings of heroes that have passives that are more commonly shared between their playstyle. So this is going to allow, you know, like dive heroes to have a certain passive that works for them. Barrier tanks to have a certain passive that works for them and just really map that out for our players. This is going to come with a big facelift to the hero select, so we're going to swap up the groupings a little bit so you can kind of see which kind of heroes play alike or play with that same passive when you're selecting a hero. So that old muscle memory of, like, where you're going to select another Tank, you're going to have to relearn that, but it's going to look really good and hopefully, you know, guide some players to the right place and give them a little more agency in how they want to play.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's where my head went is, like, you know, especially with new players or when a new character comes out, I feel like this is a great way to just kind of hint at, like, hey, this is the character, and you're getting buffs because this is the way you probably should be playing.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: And there's things you can do and there's, you know, ways to kind of punch up and be a better player. But I think, like, that's such a great way to introduce people especially to more complicated characters.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: There's certainly characters that I'm scared to pick just because I don't want to be learning them.

KIM HORN: Absolutely, yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Trying to get yelled at, you know. I've been playing with my friends too long. They've gotten way too comfortable. But that's fascinating. So as you guys roll out these sub-roles and passives, this doesn't affect the perk system as it exists now, does it, or does it change it a little?

KENNY HUDSON: No, not at all. It actually is additive to the perk system. We will, of course, be going back over some of the perks that this may clash with a little bit and, you know, put some new ones in. So the team is hard at work right now actually updating those.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I got to say I was pretty skeptical at first and, frankly, cranky when you guys first dropped those, and I've completely -- I've become a huge fan.

KENNY HUDSON: Oh, that's so much fun, right?

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: It is, and it changes, like, what the vibe is like, and some perks just work really well with different characters based on what they take, and it just enables way more coordination with my team, but also, like, variety, what I'm doing. So, yeah, yeah, definitely turned a page there. Okay, we've covered a bit of story, characters, new mechanics. We're still not done. There's some visual elements getting updated, new UI.

KIM HORN: That's right, yeah. One of the things we talked about earlier is like being able to watch all the stories and all the narrative we have going on while you're waiting for a queue, you know, while you're doing just -- shopping around, clicking around. So yeah, we call it the "Narrative Viewer." I don't know if we're going to have another name by the time this comes out, but yeah, it's great. You can kind of just catch up on our storyline as it is so far.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's nice.

KENNY HUDSON: We've also given like a big facelift to everything from login screen to hero gallery to all the little UI elements, the cards, you know, just making the flow make a little bit more sense and like update it for a new 10 years. So like, you know, your play bar is going to be on the top now and easy access to the hero gallery and everything else that we're showing. The UI team has really just gone all out, you know, really listening to player feedback and, you know, looking at where we started, where we've come, tearing that down and building something brand new from the ground up.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome. That'll be fun to dive into. In addition to that, post-match accolades, I think. That's pretty interesting as well.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah. So, you know, the old card system from Overwatch 1, we definitely asked ourselves, what is that going to look like in Overwatch world, in the new world of Season 1 and beyond. And so those are kind of back, but even better in that we're going to be able to show your 3D character model. You know, if you get nominated in the lineup at the end of the match, you can vote for your enemies, vote for your teammates, give them praise, stuff like that. Just a good cap.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love that praise. Like, just immerse me, you know what I mean? I want to be sucked in whenever I'm playing, and I like the, like, the Overwatch characters are so awesome and so unique. They have their own personality, so, like, let them banter, right?

KENNY HUDSON: Exactly.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: So more dialogue, the praise system, like, that's a great example of, like, getting to shout out my team as my character and just hear more lines and, yeah, that sucks me right in. Immersion. That's really a nice touch.

KIM HORN: Right.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I even wrote that. I was like, we have to mention the praise feature. I'm a fan. That's great. Well, also, I feel like if you're not, you know, if you don't look good doing something, are you really doing it? So I also see that you got new cosmetics coming. I'm a sucker for that stuff, so I'm curious. I'm curious how you guys feel about the new cosmetics.

KIM HORN: My favorite one coming out, and if you watch Spotlight, you'll see the concept, but the mythic Mercy we have coming out is, like, my favorite. It looks so good. The artist killed it on this one, and yeah, I'm so excited for it. And then we have a lot more skin themes coming up this year that we're really excited for, and I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm just going to wait for everything.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Okay, okay, fair enough. Big changes coming to Overwatch, heroes, a UI overhaul, dropping the deuce (laughter). What personally is something you're most excited for in this coming year? Start with you, Kim.

KIM HORN: I'm super biased, but I'm very excited for the narrative storyline that's coming up this year. We have a great story and we have so many ways that we're going to drop it. We have, like, web comics, we have webtoons, we have cinematics, we have all kinds of videos and content and ways for players to experience the story and ways for them to experience it in the game as well. But, yeah, we're doing a lot of map updates that show, like our background behind us, stuff's happening. This is an active vibrant world with the story that we're telling, and so we're really excited for people to feel a little more immersed and feel a sense of time as we go through the year.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love that. I mean, that is something that speaks to me personally. I love the story. I think Overwatch is ripe with narrative and story opportunities. Again, like I said, the characters are just so awesome, and so that is nothing but great news to hear. I love the idea of being told stories through the maps or just environmental storytelling in general is just, like, such a great way to convey, like, a sense of what's going on without having to say too much at all overtly.

KIM HORN: And hopefully this isn't a spoiler, but we have a big, huge opening with Vendetta, and then we're going to have a big, huge ending to the year as well.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait.

KENNY HUDSON: I can't wait to see Five Stacks jump in and queue us all new heroes.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, I didn't even think about that.

KIM HORN: That's going to be crazy.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: You could have a whole fresh team.

KENNY HUDSON: Whole fresh team, and then just the magic of discovery and figuring out how you're going to play them and just so much fun with your friends.

KIM HORN: Right.

KENNY HUDSON: You know, the most talented group of developers that I've ever had the pleasure of working with has done a lot of work to bring these five heroes to life.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

KENNY HUDSON: And to know that you're getting five more throughout the year that the team is, like, currently cooking on is -- I'm just so stoked for our community to get something super strong.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome.

KIM HORN: There'll be something new every season for people to experience.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh. Oh, I got chills, man. That's awesome. And I love -- I mean, shout out to your teams. Like, obviously, I am but one fan. There's so many people that play this game are all around the world. Like, we are just megaphones for bigger teams on these shows that really put a lot of heart and soul into these games, and you can absolutely feel it with Overwatch. Yeah, so shout out to your team. They've cooked.

KIM HORN: Thanks.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Five years. I didn't even think about that. Your whole team could be new characters. Oh, it's going to be a mess. I can't wait.

KIM HORN: It'll be glorious.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, it's going to be so funny. Well, that pretty much wraps it up. That pretty much wraps up our show on this episode of the Official Xbox Podcast. Any final thoughts for the community, the fans, anything you'd want to share?

KIM HORN: We got a big --

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, wait.

KIM HORN: Fist.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Where did you find it?

SPEAKER 2: Laying on the ground.

KIM HORN: How'd you get that off him?

KENNY HUDSON: That's incredible.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I'm surprised no one took it. Oh, my gosh. That's pretty nice.

KENNY HUDSON: It's coming back to the office, right?

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Is Doomfist -- oh, my gosh. Look at this. Ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, can you arm-wrestle it? Give it a nice clasp?

KIM HORN: I don't think I can even clasp it.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's nice. Ooh, is this for me? Is this a gift for the host?

KENNY HUDSON: You know what? Sure (laughter).

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: It's legally binding. It's recorded.

KIM HORN: I thought it might make a nice flower base, but --

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, upside down, right?

KIM HORN: Yeah, I didn't really make a hole for the flowers.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome, yeah. Oh, my gosh. That thing is so pretty. Whoever made this, well done. Is that Doomfist Gauntlet? Is that what that is?

KIM HORN: Yes.

KENNY HUDSON: That is.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, that's awesome.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, my gosh. Man, call back to the first -- was that the first short? Was the --

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, the first (inaudible), yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, man, take me back. I'm but an old man now in the twilight of my life (laughter). Anyway, that pretty much wraps up this episode. Oh, I can't stop looking at this thing. Any final thoughts you want to share with the community, your fans, the team back home?

KENNY HUDSON: I mean, huge shout out to the team back home. This year has been absolutely insane. Your passion and dedication is, you know, what lets us keep going, and honestly, same for the fans. Like, every time we've said it here, 10 years, like, does not feel like it. It's been the blink of an eye, and it's just honestly been the honor of my career to be able to --

KIM HORN: Yeah, for the fans. We're so excited for everything we have this year. We can't wait to share with you guys and play, so we hope to see everyone in game.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I do have one more question I should ask before that lovely ending, because I don't want to ruin it, but I do have to ask, as people that are working on the game, do you have favorite heroes?

KENNY HUDSON: Ah, man.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Or villains?

KIM HORN: Well, I have heroes that I love because I love their voice lines but I'm terrible at.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Sure, that's --

KIM HORN: And then I have heroes that I'm better at playing, but, you know, I should really branch out more.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I'm right there with you.

KENNY HUDSON: Yeah, I'm like you. I'm a big Tank man.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Nice.

KENNY HUDSON: Playing a lot of Ryan right now, but then I always, like, have delusions of grandeur and do a Genji swap or something like that where I'm like, we're going to grind DPS, it's going to be the greatest, and then I get bodied, and then back to Ryan I go.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Totally.

KIM HORN: Yeah, yeah, it's Junkrat for me. I love Junkrat's voice lines and interactions. I'm awful. Like, I hit no one with the character.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: You just like the character.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's, like, I'm a big Ashe fan. I love Ashe. Love the character, love the voice lines. And I'm so hit and miss with her. Like, I pop off for a game and I'm like this is my main. This is all I will play. And then I get railed for three games straight and --

KIM HORN: Worst game of all time.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: And I don't want to give her -- I can't quit her, you know, I don't want to give her up. That's the beauty of these hero shooters, I tell you.

KIM HORN: Yeah.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Thank you both so much for joining. Again, like, I'm such a big fan. I cannot thank you guys and the team enough for just creating this and, like, giving me and my -- some of my best friends incredible memories over the last 10 years. So thank you guys for coming and sharing some exciting news with us.

KIM HORN: Awesome. Thank you so much.

KENNY HUDSON: Awesome. Thank you so much.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, of course. All right, fans, that is it for this episode of the Official Xbox Podcast. Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next one. Bye. [ Music ]