Blizzard’s multiplayer sensation Overwatch was undoubtedly one of the top video games we got to play last year, thanks to its colourful roster of characters, beautiful maps and exciting, fast-paced matches. It’s also been great that developer Blizzard has been adding to the game in a series of patches, balancing the game by nerfing overpowered characters like Torbjorn, and even adding completely new characters like Sombra last November.
The game’s most recent patch comes in the wake of controversy, though, and fixes what Blizzard had described as a “glitch” that made Mei’s waist a bit too slim for some players, who complained about the matter on Blizzard’s forums.
You see, many have praised Blizzard’s game due to the inclusion of female characters with a variety of body types, such as Russian soldier Zarya’s muscular physique, Widowmaker’s curvy and sexy body and Wei’s more averagely proportioned body…
So this is why the fact that one of Wei’s new skins for Overwatch’s “Year of the Rooster” event (which runs until February 13) rubbed some people the wrong way, as they made this Chinese’s character waist much slimmer than it had been before (see image below), leading some to think that Blizzard was sexualizing the character for the Chinese New Year event.
Wei as normally seen in Overwatch (left) and her Chinese New Year alter ego (right).
But to the relief of those concerned by Wei’s figure change, Blizzard has now patched this “glitch” and Wei once again sports a waistline more in tune with the rest of her body.
This is not the first time that Overwatch has been controversial due to portraying female characters in a sexualized way, though, as even before its release the game was controversial due to one of Tracer’s victory poses. This pose admittedly drew a bit too much attention to the character’s butt area (and was made even worse by the colourful pants Tracer wears in the game).
Blizzard eventually gave in to protests and came up with a more dignified pose for Tracer, though, which is something that goes to show that Overwatch has been as controversial as it has been popular at times.
But despite the controversy, it is clear that Blizzard’s game is one of the best arena shooters to have come out in years, and it would surely be a great thing if Blizzard kept adding new features and characters to Overwatch in the future.