Overwatch

What ‘Women Only’ Overwatch Groups Are Actually Like

As someone who is both a journalist and gamer, I enjoy tossing myself into the hell pits of online shit cans and sorting through the garbage for meaning. Over the last week, that pit has consisted of “egirls only,” “hot egirls only 18+,” “only hot girls 420,” “[Name redacted’s] feminist island 2/2/2 girls only,” and…

Overwatch’s ridiculous new hamster hero—whom Kotaku will hereafterrefer to as “Hammond,” not “Wrecking Ball”—will go live on July 24, Blizzard announced today.

Overwatch League’s First-Ever MVP Illustrates Its Support Problem

NYXL support player Sung-hyeon “JJonak” Bang is a monster. He came out of nowhere during Overwatch League’s inaugural season and single-handedly redefined the way people perceive peace-loving robo-monk Zenyatta, transforming him into a lightning-handed murder machine. The league has just awarded him as its first-ever “MVP,” but what’s weird is, we haven’t seen him play…

Overwatch‘s Highest-Level Player Games 12 Hours Per Day On Top Of His Job

Earlier this month, TreeboyDave became the first person to ever hit level 6,000 in Overwatch, a climb to the top of the 40-million-player heap that he estimates has taken him 9,000 hours. Despite that, he says he’s not even close to ready to hang up his keyboard. TreeboyDave is currently level 6,087, having gained more…

The first day of this month’s Overwatch League finals will be broadcast on ESPN, with finals highlights airing on ABC. That’s part of a multi-year deal announced by ESPN/Disney today that’ll put other finals games on Disney XD and ESPN2/3 as well. OWL’s Twitch deal remains intact, according to the report.

Please Don’t Ever Nerf These Custom Overwatch Nikes

When reader Cong Cao wanted to get his girlfriend Mavis a birthday present this year, he skipped the whole “buy her a corny gift” angle and went straight to the heart. Because she’s a big Overwatch fan, and of D.Va in particular, he decided to get her something related to the game and character. But…

Overwatch Fans Can’t Stop Talking About Hanzo’s Dainty Ankles

For over a year, Blizzard has insisted that Hanzo Shimada does not have prosthetic legs. Nevertheless, Overwatch fans have their doubts. Let me be frank—Hanzo Shimada has impossibly tiny ankles. Observe: As a result of this undeniable truth, Overwatch fanfiction writers have been operating under the assumption that Hanzo has prosthetic legs. The understanding was…

Fortnite Is Better Than Overwatch At Telling An Evolving Story

Cracks in the sky. Rifts on the ground. Fake burger-restaurant mascots in real deserts. All eyes are on Fortnite’s map right now, and with good reason: It’s the main character of a story that could go just about anywhere. Fortnite’s battle royale mode barely has a story in the traditional sense. Little is known about…

Overwatch’s Pink Mercy skin sales raiseda heckin’ ginormous sum of $12.7 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

A $175 Statue For Hanzo Mains

Here you go, Hanzo mains. The only statue you’ll ever buy. Out in Q4 this year, he stands 13″/33 cm. Being a statue, he does nothing but stand there, looking very Hanzo. He’s the fourth in a line being released slowly by Blizzard, which already includes Mercy, Widowmaker, Genji and a $450 D.Va.

It’s Now Even Easier For Overwatch Players To Throw Games

“We deranking u cool?” asked the creator of “LOSING GAMES/TROLL/DERANK,” a group queued up for a game of Overwatch. I agreed. “I’ve never done this before,” I said over comms. “How does it work?” My new teammates explained that we would draw out the game for as long as possible, frustrating our opponents by whatever…

Call Overwatch‘s Hamster Hammond, You Cowards

Hammond is one of the better hamster names in history, miles ahead of Squeaks, Furball, or whatever else children name their pets. Despite this, the Overwatch team insists on officially calling the game’s newest hero “Wrecking Ball,” a name that sounds more befitting of a GI Joe action figure or a good (fight me) but…

Junkrat Toy Is A Tiny Terror

The Overwatch Nendoroid figures are supposed to be cute, so I don’t know what the hell is going on with this Junkrat. Maybe it’s the best they can do with the character. But I can’t look at those eyes and tongue and not think this is the cartoon lovechild of Slimer from Ghostbusters and Guy…

Overwatch Is Getting Wackier, And That’s Great

Yesterday, Overwatch added a hamster. The hamster’s name is Hammond, or Hammy for short. In a game about cyborg ninjas, strained mother-daughter relationships, and terrorist groups with edgy-ass names like Talon, here’s Hammy the Hamster. It’s just one more example of how Overwatch is embracing its wacky side. I’m not sure if Overwatch ever fell…

Please Don’t Kill Hammond, Overwatch’s New Hero

Hammond, Overwatch’s newest hero, can be killed just like everyone else. But while it looks like he simply disappears in the blast as his mech explodes, the reality is more horrifying. Please don’t kill Hammond.

Cecilia and Heather are testing out Overwatch’s new hero, the mech-driving hamster Wrecking Ball right now on YouTube Live!

Overwatch‘s Latest Hero Is Wrecking Ball, A Hamster In A Mech [Update]

It looks like Overwatch’s newest hero might be who—but not what—we thought. Fans speculated that the first-person shooter’s 28th hero could be Hammond, a monkey companion to the genetically-engineered gorilla Winston. So it came as a surprise that Overwatch just released Hammond the hamster, who goes by “Wrecking Ball,” onto the game’s public test realm…

Sounds like Sombra will be the next Overwatch character to receive major changes. In a forum post, lead designer Geoff Goodman said that her stealth and translocator will soon have infinite duration, but stealthed movement speed will take a hit, and she won’t be able to cap points while invisible. Still, quite a buff!

Overwatch’s Trolls Are Losing

Overwatch players needed something to incentivize good sportsmanship and, yesterday, they got it. Blizzard’s latest Overwatch patch is toning down the hierarchy of skill and introducing a hierarchy of decency. It’s a masterstroke of features, all interacting to reward civility and cleanse the game of antisocial behavior. At its heart is a new “endorsement” system…

Overwatch Players Have Made Their Own Ways To Celebrate Pride Month

Even though Overwatch’s mascot character is an out lesbian, the game didn’t offer any Pride-themed events or costumes this month. So players have found their own ways to celebrate. When Blizzard released a holiday comic that showed the Overwatch mascot character, Tracer, celebrating Christmas with her girlfriend, fans were ecstatic. They’d already been writing fic…