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A new book that goes behind the scenes of Overwatch’s cinematics is coming in October, giving you a look at the designs and decisions that helped bring the game’s world to life beyond the arena.
The Cinematic Art of Overwatch is up on Amazon (opens in new tab) right now, with pre-orders open for $45. The final collection will span 244 pages, with a coffee table book sized selection of visuals pulled from across the animation process as well as written accounts of their development. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Starting with the announcement trailer in 2014, Overwatch’s award-winning cinematics captured the hearts of millions across the world, introducing them to a hopeful science-fiction world where heroes are needed.
“Crafting these animated shorts required the Blizzard cinematics team to explore new ways of animated film making with a bold new art style, more frequent releases, and intimate collaboration with the game team. The Cinematic Art of Overwatch chronicles this journey, featuring never-before-seen art and anecdotes that illustrate how Overwatch’s richly imagined characters and world were brought to life through cinematic storytelling.”
Blizzard has a long history of impressive cinematic trailers – I still get chills when I watch the original opening video for World of Warcraft. Since Overwatch (the game) is all about non-canonical PvP battles, the Blizzard cinematic team got to take more of a lead in telling the stories behind the characters and events that shaped its near-future story.
The lore’s filled out with comic books and short stories and stuff like that, too, but the videos are what really help draw new players in – whether it’s the sadness and hope of Echo’s origins (opens in new tab) or the stirring reunion of the Overwatch 2 intro (opens in new tab).
Speaking of emotional impact, Blizzard put googly eyes on all the Overwatch heroes. You can read all about it in our April Fools’ Day 2020 round-up (opens in new tab).
