Michael Chu explains every Overwatch hero

There are 26 heroes in Overwatch so far — how well do you know them all? Overwatch Lead Writer Michael Chu sat down with WIRED recently to talk about every single hero in the game. Some heroes get a very basic explanation of their origins, others get a much deeper look into their history. The video is full of fun facts about the development of Blizzard’s ever-popular title. And if you aren’t quite familiar with all of Overwatch’s lore — or you’re just a little bit rusty on the details — it serves as a great refresher course.

It was pretty common knowledge that Hanzo and Genji were once one hero in the game. But their sibling rivalry came from an unlikely source: a food documentary. Meanwhile, figuring out an ultimate ability for Bastion was initially quite the struggle. How do you give an otherwise friendly and kind omnic a powerful ability? Eventually, they went back to Bastion’s origins for inspiration. Orisa was originally difficult to relate to, which led to her backstory as the creation of a child: Efi Oladele.

Bringing heroes to life

Each hero also has their associated voice actor highlighted. The familiar drawl of Jesse McCree came to be when Matthew Mercer saw the cowboy in promotional art during the initial announcement at BlizzCon. In the case of Sombra, her character development extends to the way she speaks. Overwatch heroes tend to speak very seriously, like they’re playing a role. Sombra’s voice is much more conversational — she speaks more naturally, which sets her apart.

As for Bastion, his boops and beeps are made by none other than Chris Metzen. According to Metzen, voicing Bastion is more like playing a musical instrument than delivering traditional scripted lines. The sound team has an entire processing setup that transforms Metzen’s vocalizations into Bastion’s by-now familiar chirps and trills.

The video is a little lengthy — it clocks in at just over 21 minutes long — but it’s full of fun information. It offers an entertaining glimpse into the development world, and just how these characters are created. And in the case of some heroes, it’s also a quick refresher on just where they came from, and where they fit into Overwatch’s story. Even if you think you already know everything about Overwatch, the video’s got enough new tidbits to make it worth the watch.