Well, if you want a narrative that will cause uprise amongst the actors, Blizzard put up a brand-new Overwatch short story, particularly for Soldier: 76. Futures Past tells the story from the perspective of the clay-as-crag soldier, placing him in an old haunting or new empty promise of a life. An official tweet teases some of the emotional weight of the story, incorporating a line from it: “If I can do more to make the world safe for you, I have to do it.”
But this time, unlike the usual Overwatch lore drops, the real drama is not so much in what the story entails. When the tweet went out, people made a front-page news story about Soldier: 76 and his sexuality, which has been canon since 2019. User JaeTheDucky shouted, “LETSSS GOOOO SOLDIER IS STILL A HOMOSEXUAL!” Others joined in debating, saying things like “I sometimes forget he is gay because he doesn’t sound or act gay.”
The cast were just some who still can’t seem to let go of the fact that Soldier-76 is gay, sarcastically questioning whether Blizzard is “shoving it down our throat,” and a jab at Soldier players stating, “That’s why they can’t shoot straight” (Ouch.). This was in a way giving claps back, with defenders saying that if a single short story about a gay character feels like an attack, then maybe it is a problem with the story.
Nevertheless, the Futures Past content looks good to be worth the wait for lore devotees. On Runasapi, the story suggests that the motivations and regrets of Soldier: 76 shall be dealt with in further depth. And that, in itself, is very good news for fans who have been desperate for some more world-building since we haven’t seen much of it in the last couple of years.
Let us be frank; Overwatch players will take anything at this point. With the PvE Scrapped for Overwatch 2 and glaciated pace of new hero releases, a beautiful short story is the least they can eat up right now.
The full story is streaming live on the official Blizzard page, so go ahead if you want to catch up with the latest on Soldier: 76 (or just want to watch him being gay all over again). The Twitter replies, however, are ones to avoid unless you like having chaos playing in the background.
Meanwhile, the entirety of the Overwatch community will continue to hash it out over Soldier’s sexuality till the heat death of the universe. Some things never really even change.
