The action of Overwatch takes place in a technologically advanced, highly stylized future earth. In a time of global crisis, an international task force of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities known as Overwatch had come together to restore peace to a war-torn world. After many years, the group’s influence waned, and it was eventually disbanded. Overwatch might be gone now . . . but the world still needs heroes.

With an emphasis on accessibility and pure fun, Overwatch brings Blizzard’s signature easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay to the FPS genre. Harnessing the power of their hero of choice, players will join forces in teams of six and battle each other across a range of futuristic global locations, from the hologram-lit streets of London to a bazaar in the shadows of a high-tech Egyptian pyramid. Every battlefield is iconic and built to highlight each character’s unique abilities, and fights can shift from streets to rooftops to open skies within the span of a breath.

Roadhog is a ruthless killer with a well-earned reputation for cruelty and wanton destruction.

Mako Rutledge was one of the many inhabitants of the Australian Outback whose land was seized and used for the construction of an omnium. But in the wake of the Omnic Crisis, the government made a controversial move, gifting the land to the omnics who had nearly destroyed their country, in hopes of establishing a long-term peace accord. This agreement permanently displaced Mako and a large number of the area's residents: a scattered collection of survivalists, solar farmers, and people who just wanted to be left alone.

Furious over the loss of their homes, Mako and the residents turned to violent rebellion. They formed the Australian Liberation Front and struck against the omnium and its robot population to take back the lands that had been stolen from them. Events continued to escalate until the ALF sabotaged the omnium's fusion core, which resulted in an explosion that destroyed the omnium, irradiated the surrounding area, and littered the Outback with twisted metal and wreckage for miles around.

Mako watched as his home became an apocalyptic wasteland, and he was forever changed.

Adapting to his environment, he donned a mask and took to the broken highways of the Outback on his ramshackle chopper. Little by little, his humanity was forgotten. The last vestiges of Mako faded away and the ruthless killer Roadhog was born.

Abilities

• Roadhog's Scrap Gun fires short-range blasts of shrapnel with a wide spread. Alternatively, it can launch a shrapnel ball that detonates farther away, scattering metal fragments from the point of impact.
• Roadhog restores a chunk of his health over a brief period of time.
• Roadhog hurls his chain at a target; if it catches, he yanks them into close range.
• After cramming a top-loader onto his Scrap Gun, Roadhog pours in ammo. For a short time, he can crank out a stream of shrapnel that knocks back enemies.

Junkrat is an explosives-obsessed freak who lives to cause chaos and destruction.

The attack on the Australian omnium's fusion core forever altered the landscape of the Outback. After the detonation, the area was transformed into a harsh, irradiated wasteland, littered with debris and the twisted fragments of the ruined facility, and unlivable to most.

But there some who survived. Calling themselves the Junkers, they scavenged the husk of the omnium and formed a lawless, cutthroat society in its shadow. Junkrat was one of them, eking out a living reclaiming metal and components from the ruins. Like many others, he was affected by the lingering radiation. This touch of madness made him ideal for handling dangerous explosives, a love which he turned into an obsession.

He came to notoriety when he discovered an extremely valuable secret in the bones of the omnium. Though few knew the nature of what he found, he was nonetheless pursued by bounty hunters, gangs, and opportunists wherever he went, until he made a deal with the Junker enforcer Roadhog, who grudgingly agreed to be his personal bodyguard in exchange for a fifty-fifty share of the spoils.

Now, with Roadhog in tow, Junkrat has left the Outback, and embarked upon an international crime spree leaving nothing but havoc and bedlam in his wake.

Abilities

• Junkrat's Frag Launcher lobs grenades a significant distance. They bounce to reach their destination, and blow up when they strike an enemy.
• After placing one of his homemade Concussion Mines, Junkrat can trigger it to damage enemies and send them flying... or propel himself through the air.
• Junkrat tosses out a giant, metal-toothed trap. Should an enemy wander too close to the trap, it clamps on, injuring and immobilizing them.
• Junkrat's deranged sense of humor persists past his death. If killed, he drops several live grenades.
• Junkrat revs up a motorized tire bomb and sends it rolling across the battlefield, climbing over walls and obstacles. He can remotely detonate the RIP-Tire to deal serious damage to enemies caught in the blast, or just wait for it to explode on its own.

While each hero represents a formidable force on their own, players can amplify their potential by assembling into a well-balanced team and creatively combining powers. No matter which hero or playstyle they prefer, players will be able to team up and accomplish the incredible in Overwatch.

New heroes and maps will continually be added to the game as development progresses, beta testing will begin in Fall 2015 so sign up now.