Blizzard is celebrating Pride month with a slew of free Overwatch 2 cosmetics for players to share their love for the LGBTQ+ community. Along with player icons, name cards, and a special spray, gamers that load into the hybrid map Midtown will notice a Pride parade taking place throughout the map. When I first played the new version, I immediately noticed there is an abundance of rainbow-colored confetti throughout the streets and rainbow flags on display.
Players in some countries that have anti-LGBTQ+ laws are not included in the event, and in a quote reported by Dexerto last week, OW2 game director Aaron Keller noted that the safety of players in those countries is the reason for that decision.
Related: ‘What is this?’: Overwatch players slam ‘outrageous’ attempt at Pride event update
Though Blizzard didn’t say which countries do not have access to the Pride content, players online have noticed that many Eastern European countries are a part of that list. For those in the U.S. like me or in another place that has the event unlocked, this Pride month celebration includes a wide array of ways to express oneself in-game through a variety of general LGBTQ+ Pride cosmetics, as well as items that represent more specific groups inside the queer community.
All Overwatch 2 Pride month sprays
Along with numerous player icons and name cards, Blizzard is giving all players a “Lena and Emily” spray for Tracer. The spray depicts a photo of Tracer with her partner Emily. The two are holding their hands and fingers together to create the shape of a heart.
All Overwatch 2 Pride month player icons
Overwatch 2 players that log into the game this month have access to 15 different player icons that represent the LGBTQ+ community. The icons include various specific queer pride flags, as well as an Overwatch Pride icon that has the OW logo over the top of an adapted rainbow flag. I’ve taken a screenshot of the options. You can see them below.
Here are the 15 player icons added to the game this month to celebrate Pride month:
- Agender Flag
- Aromantic Flag
- Asexual Flag
- Bisexual Flag
- Gay Flag
- Genderfluid Flag
- Intersex Flag
- Lesbian Flag
- Non-Binary Flag
- Pansexual Flag
- Transgender Flag
- Progress Pride
- Intersex-Inclusive Progress
- Overwatch Pride
- Rainbow
All Overwatch 2 Pride month name cards
Not to be outdone by the number of Player Icon options available, there are a whopping 24 Pride-related name cards. Similar to the way player icons worked, there are numerous options for repping specific segments of the queer community. I took screenshots of the many options; one screenshot wasn’t enough to capture all of the cards.
Related: All LGBTQ+ characters in Overwatch 2
What differentiates the name cards, though, is being able to also display the silhouette of any of the game’s five heroes that are known to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Pharah, Tracer, Baptiste, Soldier: 76, and Lifeweaver each have a pair of Pride name cards. One shows LGBTQ+ Pride more generally and the other represents their specific sexuality.
Published: Jun 5, 2023 03:54 pm