Overwatch director Aaron Keller can understand why gamers and voice actress Fareeha are unhappy with the appearance of the hero Anran in the first-person shooter.
Overwatch game director Aaron Keller understands calls for the appearance of new hero Anran to be changed.
Fans of the first-person shooter and the character’s English-language voice actress Fareeha have both suggested that Anran is a victim of so-called ‘Same Face Syndrome’ and different from her previous appearances in comics and cinematics.
In a social media statement, Fareeha says she has been left to “mourn” the final in-game design that was made available to play in early access at the weekend.
She said: “There was an unspoken promise that said ‘we’re going to challenge the beauty standards that are plaguing and ransacking media these days’.
“The Ozempic chic, the ‘contour your nose’, ‘you have no nose’, ‘the tiniest nose’. And I think because of that precedent, people feel understandably let down.”
Keller has explained in his own statement that Blizzard had hoped to make changes to Anran’s in-game design to make her “look and feel more like the fierce older sister” she is supposed to be.
Without showing a new look for the character, Keller hinted that Blizzard was working on the change – which will be seen by gamers later in the title’s new Season 1 that will be available from Tuesday (10.02.26).
In a video posted on Overwatch’s social media account, he said: “Thank you all for the incredible reception to last week’s Spotlight event.
“We’re sorting through all the questions, comments, excitement and feedback that you guys shared, and I wanted to take a moment to address one thing in particular.
“The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce older sister that we all envision her to be. We’re so proud of the work our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in Season 1, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game.”
Keller continued: “We discussed sharing this with all of you last week but wanted to wait until we had confirmation of exactly what we can do. We’re hoping to make this update in Season 1 but I don’t have specifics to share just yet. Our hero models are incredibly complicated and we really need to test out what we can do.
“We’re always striving to make Overwatch better and I think Season 1 is a great example of the dedication and tireless work that our team puts into this game, its universe and ultimately, our players.
“We’re so excited to share it with all of you when Season 1 launches. Thanks for the feedback and support, we couldn’t do it without all of you. Please keep it coming.”
Overwatch director Aaron Keller accepts criticism of Anran’s appearance
