Ever heard of Overwatch? If you somehow haven’t this game is about a group of heroes who band together to fight evil. So what better tribute to have than to a fan that was a hero. One day before the launch of Overwatch, Wu Hongyu 20 years old saw someone stealing a classmate’s bike, so he got on his own and chased the robber. However, in doing so he got into a fatal accident and was killed. So in a way he himself was also a hero fighting evil in the world just like the video game characters.
In a group chat with his friends he asked “Is anyone else really waiting for the launch tomorrow?”. However, Wu died on May 23, the day before Overwatch was released. So to honor his memory, Blizzard added small tribute for him in the map Lijiang Tower by adding the name Hongyu, in Chinese, to one of the spacesuits on the red side of the map. Blizzard also added the phrase “heroes never die” — one of Mercy’s catchphrases — in Chinese to the red banner behind the spacesuits to remember this everyday hero. A Blizzard representative confirmed the tribute to Polygon, saying, “We added that in remembrance of a brave member of our community.” This remembrance shows how much Blizzard cares about their community and the everyday heroes in the world.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Blizzard has made a tribute to one of their fans. In their game World of Warcraft, they added quests, NPC’s and shrines for the fans that have recently lost their lives over the years. Blizzard is very compassionate towards its fans around the world which allows its fans to honor others that have been lost, and together they can band together and remember the fallen.