Is there an Echo in here? Yes, and she just wiped out my entire team dammit! Overwatch has a brand new hero to show off, in the form of a character who represents “the cutting edge of technology” according to Blizzard. Called Echo, she was first seen back in several Overwatch short films, such as the rather lovely action sequence wherein McCree tangled with Ashe over the contents of the payload on Route 66. Actually that was a great clip, time to watch it again while I gander at the original Overwatch cinematic trailer where her concept design can be spotted in the background.
Anyway, Echo is the bleeding edge of artificial intelligence, a being who far surpasses run of the mill androids and who was created by a guilt-stricken Dr. Mina Liao during her time with Overwatch when the Omnic uprising shook the planet. As usual, the real question tat Liao had was whether or not Echo would exist as a force for good or as the next evolution of synthetic life that would succeed in wiping out humanity. I think she turned out for the better.
Here’s her origin video:
Echo is now Overwatch’s 32nd hero to be unveiled, and she’ll be popping up on the test servers soon enough. Like everyone else, she’ll be playable in both Overwatch and Overwatch 2. Fun fact: Echo was originally named Iris and she was developed from unused concept art and ideas that went into the cancelled Project Titan game. Designed as one of the flagship heroes of a game that would never see the light of day, she wielded particle beams and shields while augmenting her movements with a speed boost.
I’m expecting some totally different abilities when she goes public soon.
Last Updated: March 19, 2020
