‘We agree that she can be even better’: Overwatch director vows to redesign Anran following player and voice actor backlash

The game director of Overwatch has responded to fan backlash over the design of one of its new characters, and has vowed to change their appearance.

Last week Blizzard announced a major content update for Overwatch 2, which will see the hero shooter dropping the 2 from its name, adding an unprecedented ten new heroes, and kickstarting a “new story-driven era”.

One of these new heroes, a damage character called Anran, has been the topic of much discussion among the player base, after her appearance was changed from her initial reveal.

Back in August last year, when it was introducing the hero character Wuyang in an animated trailer, Blizzard also introduced players to his older sister Anran, who spars with him in the video.

Now that Anran has been confirmed as a playable character in the game, however, her design has been completely changed, making her look younger, to the dismay of some players who now feel she looks too much like some other female Overwatch heroes.

Things reached a head when streamer Fareeha, who voices Anran in the game, took to X to say she didn’t like the new design, and that she “got to mourn Anran between the design I had hoped for and the design we ended up with”.

Referring to the original design, Fareeha said: “There was an unspoken promise that said ‘we’re going to challenge the beauty standards plaguing [and] ransacking media these days’, the Ozempic chic, the ‘contour your nose, you have no nose, the tiniest nose’, and I think because of that precedent people feel understandably let down.”

Now Overwatch game director has posted a video on X stating that the team has heard the fan feedback and is planning to redesign Anran again.

“The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce older sister that we all envisioned her to be,” he said in his video statement.

“We’re so proud of the work that our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in Season 1, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game.

“We discussed sharing this with all of you last week, but wanted to wait until we had confirmation of exactly what we can do. We’re hoping to make this update in Season 1 but I don’t have specifics to share just yet. Our hero models are incredibly complicated and we really need to test out what we can do.

“We’re always striving to make Overwatch better and I think Season 1 is a great example of the dedication and tireless work that our team puts into this game, its universe and ultimately our players, and we’re so excited to share it all of you when Season 1 launches tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback and the support, we couldn’t do this without all of you. Please keep it coming.”