- Blizzard finally adds canonical ages and birthdays to all of Overwatch 2’s heroes
- However, fans find many inconsistencies with other parts of the game’s lore
- Kiriko’s age and her relationship to Genji and Hanzo seem like the biggest problem currently
Fans have found out that many of the new hero ages do not align properly and mess up Overwatch 2’s lore, with Kiriko’s situation being the worst example of this.
Blizzard Introduces the Age of Each Hero
It’s safe to say that Overwatch is defined by its heroes and the rich lore and interactions they have with one another and the title’s setting. However, despite the original game coming out way back in 2016 and many story events happening during the years, until now, one thing has always been missing – the heroes’ ages.
This has made many fans wonder about how old each character in the game actually is. Considering Overwatch’s story takes place in the future, there’s been plenty of speculation about the heroes’ ages. However, fans already have these answers as the recently updated Play Overwatch website now includes the official birthdays and ages of all heroes in Overwatch 2.
Unfortunately, whatever Blizzard has been doing these past few months, it seems to never do it perfectly and fans have already found some serious discrepancies with the heroes’ ages, which messes up the lore. One character’s age, in particular, seems to be the biggest problem – Kiriko.
Kirkio’s Age Does Not Correspond to the Lore
The hero has a well-defined history with the Shimada Clan, of which both Genji and Hanzo are crucial parts. According to the lore, the three heroes used to train together, but it seems Blizzard forgot that detail as their ages do not align properly. This is because, after the recent retconning, Kiriko’s age was set at 21, while that of her former training buddies is 37 and 40 respectively. If they all trained together, it means the brothers must have started doing so in their 20s, while being blasted by an infant Kiriko.
This was discussed in detail in a recent Reddit post made by a user, who criticized Blizzard for their lackluster consistency. “They can’t even design a character based on a lore that they have created. C’mon really? They are 16 years (19 with Hanzo) apart? Basically, Genji in his twenty hanged out with an infant?” the post reads.
The OP also points out how the three heroes look like teens in Kiriko’s original story video, suggesting that they are all, in fact, of similar age. Many others agreed with the statement that the ages simply do not align properly. A lot of them suggested that this discrepancy can be easily fixed if Kiriko’s age is simply bumped up to 30-ish.
Kiriko’s situation is yet another criticism Blizzard has recently received in terms of the way they are handling Overwatch. Recently, fans were disgruntled because of the inflation caused by a Mercy skin return, as it seems the company intentionally bumped up the process of it and many other cosmetic items. A lot of fans under the OP’s post expressed the opinion that Blizzard’s consistency has plummeted since the release of the sequel.
Unfortunately, fans will simply have to wait and see if their criticism is going to reach the ears of the company.
