The recent Overwatch Spotlight laid out Blizzard’s future plans regarding Overwatch, including a total game overhaul and a batch of five new heroes set to release later today. One of those heroes is Anran, the older sister to existing support hero Wuyang, and some fans were unhappy with her appearance in-game following her earlier appearances in the expanded lore. Because of this, Overwatch Director Aaron Keller confirmed via social media that the team are looking at options to change her appearance going forwards.
Fans took issue with Anran’s appearance because of how different it was to her earlier appearances in existing media. Whilst some engagement-based accounts on social media suggest there’s other motives, fans have been consistent in their desire to see consistency in the character’s multi-media appearances, with her in-game version having a slimmer face, rounder eyes and different hairstyle than the lore established earlier. The changes were ones that many felt ultimately made Anran look more generic or derivative of other heroes.
We first saw Anran in the Elemental Kin trailer to promote her brother’s debut as an Overwatch hero, the water-wielding Wuyang. She uses fire elemental powers, perfectly representing the fiery heat she has to protect her younger brother as his fierce defender. Whilst changes are being discussed, Keller states that the update to her appearance is aiming for a Season 1 release, but specifics can’t be provided due to the “incredibly complicated” hero models requiring testing before changes can go live.
Anran will join four other new heroes later today in Blizzard’s push to rebrand Overwatch with new heroes, along with a new focus on a year-long narrative story. Be sure to check back to GameObserver often for the latest breaking gaming news, including more Overwatch coverage.
