An eight year old article sheds some light on the new Overwatch plot

Atlas News, one of the biggest news sources in the fictional world of Overwatch, re-ran an article today that was originally published eight years ago. That’s incredibly considerate of them! News should be appreciated and re-visited, because if we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past, they can become our future. It’s extra kind because we know—thanks to the recent teaser—that something very important happened eight years ago.

The article reads that Overwatch’s facilities were attacked in Oslo, Norway, and Jack Morrison gave a report warning intruders that they would not rest until the attackers were brought to justice. Morrison even confirmed that Overwatch had some suspicions as to who was behind the attack.

This is an interesting bit of world building, but it seems unlikely that it’s meant to be a standalone article that doesn’t foreshadow things to come. We know from the Archives teaser that this year’s mission, known as Overwatch: Retribution, takes place eight years ago. The Norway incident also took place eight years ago. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re one and the same, but chances are that they’re related.

Eight years ago, the cracks were starting to form in Overwatch. Morrison, Reyes, and Amari were all getting a little grey and tired. In a couple of short years, Amari would be “Killed in Action”, and the tensions between Reyes and Morrison will become unsustainable. The Swiss HQ will go down in flames. We’ve known how this story will end since the beginning of the game, but now we’re starting to find the path that takes us to that conclusion.