On December 20th, Blizzard Entertainment released a digital holiday comic titled "Reflections" as part of the ongoing story of "Overwatch," their newest multiplayer game franchise. Although this comic shows us how many of the "Overwatch" heroes are spending their holidays, the main star is Tracer, a spunky time-travelling girl who is often the face of "Overwatch" merchandise. True to form, Tracer spends several pages in this festive story darting from place to place, trying to find a last minute Christmas gift. Of course, this would be a fun read on its own, but Blizzard dropped an unexpected bomb toward the end of the comic that has their fans going wild-- it turns out that the person Tracer is scrambling to shop for is her girlfriend, Emily.
Now, Blizzard had been hinting for some time that they would reveal an LGBTQ+ character soon, but as much as the "Overwatch" fandom has enjoyed shipping Tracer with other heroines, finding out that Tracer is actually a women-loving woman (WLW) is a huge surprise. Tracer has always been a fan favorite in "Overwatch," and Blizzard's decision to make her a WLW is perhaps one of the biggest steps forward the game industry has made for the LGBTQ+ community. Gay characters in video games are an incredibly rare sight, especially main characters. Although all of the heroes in "Overwatch" are technically on even turf, Tracer has been one of the most prominent in all of the game's promotional material and storylines. It would be one thing if a less popular character was declared as gay, but with Tracer, Blizzard has sent a message to the entire gaming community that LGBTQ+ people deserve to be represented, and that we can be heroes just as easily as straight people can.
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Since the comic's release, the reception to Tracer's sexuality has been mixed. As expected, LGBTQ+ fans are ecstatic about it, myself included. Many "Overwatch" players, however, particularly those we could classify as "gamer dudebros," are upset with Blizzard's decision. I've seen several heterosexual men lamenting over the "loss" of Tracer recently, talking about how she's dead to them or how making her gay is "unnecessary." Many of them don't understand why Blizzard had to turn Tracer into a WLW or why us LGBTQ+ folks are so excited. What they don't seem to comprehend is how many straight characters there are in video games compared to the severe lack of LGBTQ+ ones. As with most media, there is no shortage of heterosexual representation in games. We're not "stealing" Tracer by having her as part of the LGBTQ+ community-- we're simply happy to see ourselves star in a game for once, when we're often completely absent.
Besides, when most of the discourse about Tracer so far has been straight boys drooling over her butt, I'd prefer seeing her as a beacon of LGBTQ+ representation any day.
"Overwatch" has been praised for its racial and national diversity since its release, and I'm proud to see that diversity expanding to include multiple sexualities, as well. There are few games I can say have reached the level "Overwatch" has with its cast, and I hope Blizzard continues to push the boundaries with its heroes. Everyone deserves to help save the world, no matter their background or identity, and Tracer is helping us prove that.
