Overwatch 2 made the surprise announcement on June 30 that an animated miniseries titled "Genesis" would be debuting on YouTube in just a few days. While Blizzard had already dropped hints about an animated series, the clues went mostly unnoticed. Fortunately, this news served well to rekindle much of the hype Overwatch 2 saw when it initially launched last October.
It's no secret that the hero shooter was facing quite a bit of controversy after Blizzard decided to cancel long-anticipated PvE features. Since then, the Overwatch 2 team has been working tirelessly to retain the trust of its players. This includes announcing new heroes, maps, game modes, and updating the developer blog more frequently. To some fans, expanding upon the game's lore from past novels and comics is already a step in the right direction.
Overwatch 2 Could Find The Same Success as Arcane
While the weight of past disappointments is still heavy on some fans' minds, a well-written animated series has immense potential to turn the tide. For a long time, the characters and backstories in the game have consistently been attractive to the community. This is especially true if the success of Overwatch cinematics like Hanzo's "Dragons" short is anything to go off of. For years fans have been pleading for Blizzard to make a television show or film based on the game, and "Genesis" could be part of the answer they were hoping for.
This would not be the first time a video game franchise has been adapted into a new medium. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 greatly benefited from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently the top-grossing movie of the year, and Arcane stunned the world with its animation and storytelling in 2021. If Blizzard plays its cards right, "Genesis", or a later Overwatch 2 project, could become just as popular as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners or Arcane​​​​​​.
The "Part One: Dawn" trailer for "Genesis" appears to follow the formula of showcasing events that happened before the game. With the premier set for July 6, viewers will be able to learn more about the conflict between the omnics and humans that resulted in the Omnic Crisis. The teaser also features younger versions of Ana, Reinhardt, and Torbjorn in what appear to be the early days of the Overwatch Strike Team.
Since Doomfist's Origin Story Trailer five years ago, fans have been hoping the anime visuals would return, and it seems they're in luck. It's been confirmed that "Genesis" will be three short anime-style episodes, around five minutes each. However, more episodes could come out in the future, and fans have been quick to suggest tales from The Deadlock Gang as the next contender.
While there hasn't been any official word on the subject, if the Overwatch 2 miniseries does well, this could very well pave the way for a full-length series or film. YouTube isn't a bad place for the series to start, but if Blizzard wants to reach a larger audience, it should probably try to find a deal with a streaming platform. After all, The Last of Us found its place on HBO Max while Arcane and The Witcher often see themselves trending on Netflix.
Some fans have expressed their hopes that this is Blizzard's way of testing the water before committing to a bigger project. Overwatch's futuristic universe has so much unexplored potential, meaning that the writers have nearly unlimited options for a TV show. If "Genesis" is meant to be a soft pilot, and the animated miniseries ends up performing well, then the near future could be extremely fruitful for its fans.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
