‘We Agree That She Can Be Even Better’: Overwatch Director Responds After Voice Actor and Fans Say Changes Are Needed to New Character Anran

Overwatch’s game director has responded to calls for the appearance of new hero Anran to be changed, following fan criticism and a public declaration of support by the character’s English-language voice actress.

Over the weekend, Anran voice actress Fareeha took to social media to address “the elephant in the room” surrounding her character’s in-game appearance — which she and many other fans have called out as being a victim of the so-called “Same Face Syndrome”, and different to her earlier appearances in a comic and cinematic. Those appearances set a “precedent” for Anran, Fareeha said, leaving her to now “mourn” the final in-game design made available to play in early access at the weekend.

“There was an unspoken promise that said ‘we’re going to challenge the beauty standards that are plaguing and ransacking media these days’,” Fareeha stated. “The Ozempic chic, the ‘contour your nose,’ ‘you have no nose,’ ‘the tiniest nose.’ And I think because of that precedent, people feel understandably let down.”

Now, Overwatch game director Aaron Keller has released his own statement, and said that Blizzard hoped to make changes to Anran’s in-game design to make her “look and feel more like the fierce older sister” she was originally shown to be.

Without showing a new look for the character or providing any further specifics, Keller suggested Blizzard was working actively on the change, which would be seen by players later in the game’s new Season 1.

“Thank you all for the incredible reception to last week’s Spotlight event,” Keller said in a video posted to game’s official social media account. “We’re sorting through all the questions, comments, excitement and feedback that you guys shared, and I wanted to take a moment to address one thing in particular.

“The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce older sister that we all envision her to be. We’re so proud of the work that our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in Season 1, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game.

https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/2021058375337791653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

“We discussed sharing this with all of you last week but wanted to wait until we had confirmation of exactly what we can do. We’re hoping to make this update in Season 1 but I don’t have specifics to share just yet. Our hero models are incredibly complicated and we really need to test out what we can do.

“We’re always striving to make Overwatch better and I think Season 1 is a great example of the dedication and tireless work that our team puts into this game, its universe and ultimately, our players. We’re so excited to share it with all of you when Season 1 launches tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback and support, we couldn’t do it without all of you. Please keep it coming.”

Thousands of players flocked back to Overwatch over the weekend following the announcement that the game was dropping its “2” and adding 10 new heroes in future. This year will see Overwatch enter a “new, story-driven era” with a year-long narrative and a major overhaul — beginning with the launch of Season 1 later today, February 10.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social