Overwatch Uprising: Kaplan explains what, why, how you made it happen and what's in it for you
Overwatch's newest event ticks a lot of boxes at once.
Overwatch's latest event is now live. Called Uprising, it brings the usual slew of new loot along with a new PvE mode and a slab of story, and has nothing to do with our useless human calendars.
In a new developer update, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan explained that player feedback shaped this event. Apparently Overwatch fans asked for non-holiday events specifically, but also for some actual story; Overwatch doesn't really present much plot in game, instead squirrelling it away in the shorts, comics and other materials.
For those of you not caught up on Overwatch lore, the current game is set 30 years after the Omnic Crisis, and an unspecified amount of time after the fall of Overwatch. (As Kaplan notes, you get some references to how Overwatch fell apart in Soldier76's Overwatch short, and of course the current game takes place after Winston gets the team back together in his Overwatch short.)
This new event, Uprising, unlocks some secrets from Overwatch's past. It's set between the Omnic Crisis and the current timeline, in an era Kaplan refers to as the Overwatch organisation's "golden years" (whop whop whop). Once you understand how it fits in the timeline, it should all make sense. If not, read the new Overwatch comic issue.
Diving into Overwatch's golden history gave Blizzard the chance to unearth some nuggets in the form of a new loot box. Along with a new batch of sprays, voice lines and whatnot, there are golden years skins for the Uprising team of Mercy, Torbjörn, Reinhardt and Tracer. Other heroes who were active but not part of Overwatch at this time also get some love - there are Blackwatch skins for Genji and McCree, and a Talon skin for Widowmaker.
We've got static shots of all the new skins in the Overwatch Uprising patch notes, but I think you get a better look in the new screenshots posted with a video showing off all the new Overwatch skins, emotes, intros and more.
The new Uprising mode is a PvE encounter along the lines of Junkenstein's Revenge from Overwatch's Halloween event, but inline with feedback from that mode Blizzard has added an arcade version where you can play as any character you like rather than the set team from the event mode.
Kaplan ended the video by noting that PvP is still the core of Overwatch, though. Events are just fun diversions from that experience.