After complaints from users from different parts of the world who had been left out of the celebration of Pride Month in Overwatch 2, Blizzard has decided to expand this celebration to more countries.
Pride Month in Overwatch 2
The developers of Overwatch 2 have been very cautious with the Pride celebration, so they have decided that this in-game celebration is not accessible in different Eastern European nations. The reason why Blizzard has not launched their Pride event in different regions is due to the anti-gay laws that exist in many countries.
The Pride Month celebration not being available in many countries has caused a lot of criticism on social networks; therefore, since the beginning of the celebration on June 1, complaints from players have been read on all social networks.
However, according to information revealed by Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller, the development team is working to bring the Pride Month celebration to more countries that had not had access initially. So, right now, players in Romania and Poland can access name cards and player icons that show pride for the LGBTQ community. But that’s not all; all users playing in the Pride month celebration version will have access to the hybrid map Midtown. So right now, many more Overwatch 2 players have the opportunity to show their pride.
Overwatch 2 Pride Celebration Expansion Announcement
Through a Twitter post, Aaron Keller commented that the entire developer team is thrilled to expand the Pride celebration to more countries. Now players in Poland and Romania will have access to all the new content.
On the other hand, Keller has thanked all the players from those regions for their patience and all the comments they have made. In closing, Keller assures that the entire OW2 team is working to increase representation both in-game and outside of Overwatch 2.
We are excited to expand all of the new Pride cosmetics and Midtown update to players in Poland & Romania. Thank you to those players for their patience and feedback. We’ll continue working to expand representation both in and out of OW2!
— Aaron Keller (@aaronkellerOW) June 9, 2023
Pride Month Celebration
Blizzard has released a video confirming that two heroes in the game are members of the LGBTQ community; this video served as the official kickoff for Pride month. Although many fans of the game frequently rumored the sexual orientation of both Pharah and Baptiste, finally, the developers have confirmed it. Blizzard has reported that Pharah is a lesbian while Baptiste is bisexual.
Introducing “As You Are”, a new short story about identity, love, and friendship starring Baptiste & Pharah 🧡💙
Read it here 📖 https://t.co/Q6KpWaSxtz pic.twitter.com/P6jZ3I0aGI
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) May 30, 2023
In addition, Blizzard has produced a large amount of content to support the celebration of Pride and Inclusivity Month. Among this content has been released:
- Player icons
- ID cards
- Cosmetics
With this content, the pride of different subgroups of the LGBTQ community is represented. It is important to note that all players receive cosmetics automatically on their accounts.