Sombra was first designed as part of the original Overwatch hero pool

Sombra’s extra-long alternate reality game could have been avoided if she’d been released as part of the original Overwatch hero pool.

And that was actually an option at one point during the game’s development, Overwatch lead writer Michael Chu said during a panel at SXSW. Sombra was once to be introduced as part of the original Overwatch cast, according to Polygon. It was her kit, however, that didn’t fit into Overwatch at release. Her offerings were better suited for a later introduction.

Chu went on to describe how the Overwatch team came to its decision on heroes: Junkrat was a direct response to Torbjörn turrets, Polygon reported, while Ana was designed to give players a skill-based healer.

Like Soldier: 76, who has a lot of history in Overwatch, Sombra was introduced with an elaborate story that pushes the Overwatch lore forward. Sombra isn’t purely bad or purely good: There’s a lot of mystery about her and her motivations. Still, plenty of players aren’t fans of Sombra, but that’s okay with voice actor Carolina Ravassa.

“I’m honored when [players] pick me,” Ravassa said, as reported by Polygon. “I know every character, every superhero, is a person and has a little good and a little bad in them. I know there are a lot of Sombra haters and that’s okay.”

Sombra is the “perfect embodiment of Latinas,” Ravassa added. “She’s strong, feisty, a badass, and funny,” she said. “I feel really proud to play her. I’m often asked to play stereotypes who are not too smart or have big boobs.”

And that’s why she hopes that Latinas who play Sombra see a bit of themselves in the Mexican hacker. The same goes for Overwatch’s other champions: The game has a diverse cast of characters for lots of different folks to relate to.

H/T Polygon