Overwatch Reveals Game’s First Queer Character

And Russia isn’t happy about it…

Normally a video game’s comic is loved only by hardcore fans and isn’t what you would call “newsworthy.” However, this issue is different. Today Overwatch’s latest digital comic went live and revealed the game’s cover-star hero Tracer as queer. Raise those rainbow flags high, friends!

The comic, pictured below, shows Tracer kissing another girl, Emily, who is not part of the Overwatch gang. The two appear to be living together, or dating at the very least. They attend Winston’s holiday dinner together later in the comic.

Tracer is easily Overwatch’s most well-known character. She’s the lone hero on the box cover and is used frequently in marketing and promotions.

This is a great treat for both Overwatch fans and LGBTQ members across the video game industry. Few queer characters appear in video games, and of those few, even less are actually the game’s heroes. Although, I do have to give props to RPG’s like Stardew Valley that give players the option to have relationships with both male and female partners. Representation of minorities is incredibly important, so this LGBTQ gamer is happy to see one of the biggest games stepping it up.

In 2015, Blizzard actually teased that Overwatch would have multiple queer characters, though they gave no specifics. Tracer is the first confirmed LGBTQ hero, and we’re all hoping to see more soon!

Sadly, LGBTQ representation like this doesn’t come without backlash. The most notable so far has come from none other than Mother Russia. Eurogamer reported that the Overwatch comic loads with the message “In accordance with Russian law we cannot share this comic with our players on territory of Russian Federation.” Sigh…

Overwatch is available to play on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Go get your queer gaming on!