Developer Blizzard Entertainment shared a new blog post dedicated to Dokiwatch, a colorful journey into the magical girl anime genre that stars multiple Overwatch 2 Heroes.
“Decked out in bright colors and glittering jewelry—and toting adorable animal familiars—the Heroes of Heart fight to rid the world of Woe, a malevolent force that corrupts the hearts of those it afflicts. A comic illustrated by Manda Schank explores the origins of Juno’s magical girl storyline, but Dokiwatch itself grew from a simple idea into a full-fledged alternate universe.”
The developers describe pleading for a magical girl season, reimagining Juno, Kiriko, Brigitte and others. The game’s newest Hero, Freja, was a bit difficult to slot into a role. Finding a suitable villain for Dokiwatch was a similar challenge for the team. Many classic canon antagonists were considered—and they still may show up in Dokiwatch down the line—but landing on D.Va as Nocturna felt right.
Game producer Lauren Soanes says that the team wanted someone that, realistically, could have been part of the lineup, could have gone either way. Narratively, Dokiwatch is also a chance to temporarily escape the more serious angles of the game’s ongoing story.
“So many people have done the mahō shōjo genre, but what we felt was specific about Overwatch was that it has this big technology aspect to it,” said Lauren, noting they integrated sleek technology into the bows and ruffles endemic to the genre. Mercy’s Mythic weapon, Merciful Magitech, is a perfect example. “We want it to be very cutesy, but we also want it to feel like Overwatch.”
