Zayra, a female weightlifting hopeful, is a response to fan feedback clamoring for more diversity in body-types.
The representation of females in games has been topic of hot debate as of late, with various critics lamenting various game developers of the “lack of diversity” in female body-types. We won’t really go into specifics here, but needless to say, Blizzard has been listening, and the newest Overwatch character, Zarya, is a direct response to these critics.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of discussion among players about the need for diversity in video games. That means a lot of things. They want to see gender diversity, they want to see racial diversity, they want to see diversity along the lines of what country people are from,” explained Blizzard, adding “There is also talk about diversity in different body types in that not everybody wants to have the exact same body type always represented. And we just want you to know that we’re listening and we’re trying hard and we hope Zarya is a step in the right direction.”
Check her out below:
Zayra is the game’s first female tank character. According to Blizzard, she originally wanted to be a weightlifting champion, but later enlisted in battle to fight for the freedom of her world. She is, of course, from Russia. Her addition certainly holds true to Blizzard’s earlier words, in that it is trying not to oversexualize its female characters.
In addition to Zayra, Blizzard also revealed McCree, a gunslinger-type cowboy hero that is all about being quick on his feet, and quick on the draw. Check him out:
Blizzard also revealed a new map for the game, called Watchpoint: Gibraltar, and announced that we’d finally be able to get our hands on it when the closed beta begins this fall.
Source: Blizzard
