The success ofOverwatch 2revitalized the franchise and gave players a new generation of content to look forward to. This month,Overwatch 2gives fans an extra gift for Valentine’s Day in the form of a dating sim calledLoverwatch. Hosted by a Cupid form of Hanzo,Loverwatchis set to give players the chance to romance either Mercy or Genji when it is released on February 13. However, given the excitement surrounding the limited event and the large portion of the fan base that engages with shipping the characters, there’s a good case to make the dating sim a more permanent feature in theOverwatch 2experience.
While the originalOverwatchgave little attention to the holiday of love, fans have been expressing interest in the romantic lives of the game’s heroes since it was still in alpha. From the excitement centering around the Christmas comic that introduced fans toTracer’s girlfriend Emilyto the long-suspected romance between Genji and Mercy, the demand from the community for more content that focuses on the softer side of the characters has always been there. Given that demand, it has seemed like only a matter of time until the Blizzard team made a feature like a dating sim that exploredOverwatchcharacters' personal lives. WhileLoverwatchis a departure from the game’s canon, it is right at home among its community of fans.
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Keeping and Expanding Loverwatch
Season 3 has brought many changes toOverwatch 2, including new holidays given the focus on celebration, and while events and the exclusives that come with them are nothing new, this feature is set to drive community engagement outside direct play that could be worth keeping in the long term. Fans of the game have always had spaces to congregate and engage with the world ofOverwatchoutside the games themselves, but the addition of official Blizzard content that goes beyond the comics gives fans more to sink their teeth into when they are not in a match.
Althoughthe officialLoverwatchcomes out soon, an unofficial dating sim of the same name was being made by Tumblr user loverwatch-game, although it has not seen any update in its development since 2017. Aside from this, many fans have expressed their fascination for the personal lives of theOverwatchcast, but the game isn’t usually equipped to explore their downtime.
Giving fans not only an unlimited timeframe to romance the heroes, but more heroes to romance could therefore prove to be wildly popular.Overwatch 2has an opportunity to generate close connections between players and the games' heroes like no game mode before. The officialLoverwatchcould finally fulfill a crucial niche depending on howBlizzard handles this feature inOverwatch 2.
Even for fans that held no interest in the personal lives of the characters they play as in fights,Loverwatchcould still prove to be as fun as otherdating sim spin-offs of popular games. Hanzo’s love arrow is bound to hit the mark on the hearts of those who have grown close to the characters over the years, but with this companions game’s potential to endear players even more to the heroes and with what it will add to the fan community, keepingLoverwatchon as a year-round feature seems like a logical conclusion to many fans. As Valentine’s Day draws near and players prepare themselves for the event, fans will have to think about which character to choose as their Valentine.
Overwatch 2is out now in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
