Blizzard’s Overwatch will be turning three years old come May 2019. However, since the game’s release, the addition of new characters and map have only continued to grow the lore surrounding the game’s story. Certain events, such a the Archive Events, have had playable lore with Uprising and Retribution. Maps like Eichenwalde and Chateau Guillard have entered, adding to Reinhardt’s and Widowmaker’s lore. But in a patch nearly a year ago that added 3v3 maps to the game, one map in particular stood out, giving a few hints as to why it exists.
Necropolis is a 3v3 spinoff map that’s located near Temple of Anubis, a 2 Capture Point map that’s in the main roster for Quick Play and Competitive. In Necropolis, small nooks and crannies can be found that have images of Ana Amari, Jack Morrison, and Gabriel Reyes, a well as a photo of Fareeha Amari, Ana’s daughter. It was implied that Ana had been holed up in this city of the dead, but for how long? No one was entirely sure. And neither Blizzard, nor Michael Chu, the creative director behind Overwatch, gave much information.
Most people assumed these were just easter eggs, much like the Diablo, Hearthstone and other Blizzard games easter eggs that can be found throughout the maps. However, questions and plot holes started to be filled in when Overwatch dropped a tweet that linked to a short story titled “Bastet”. This story revolved around the secrets that Necropolis held:
“Bastet” follows Ana, years since her time in the hospital after the run-in with Widowmaker in her origin story. She’s tracking down a corrupt man named Abdul Hakim, and comes across the two people she thought to be dead: Jack Morrison, and Gabriel Reyes. Though she only meets up with Jack who, at this point, has become Soldier: 76. The two’s meeting is an odd one, filled with remorse and longing for better days as Ana attempts to convince Jack to join her in keeping Cairo, Egypt safe. Through some reluctance, he agrees.
Several things were revealed in this short story. Namely, it has been confirmed that Ana has been holed up in that little corner in the Necropolis map, where she does research and stays hidden from those who believed her to be dead. The next major thing that was revealed, and confirmed by Michael Chu’s twitter account, is that Jack Morrison/Soldier: 76 is gay, and had a romantic relationship with a man named Vincent:
Soldier: 76 is the second character to be revealed as LGBTQ+ since Lena “Tracer” Oxton came out back in the “Reflections” Comic. With a second character confirmed as gay, it’s a question of who will be next, as no one else has been confirmed as anything.
The third, and final major addition, is Ana’s new cosmetic skin:
In the short story, Ana shows off an antique mask that resembles the Egyptian Goddess, Bastet. This mask is also featured as the cover art for the short story. When Ana makes the final decision with Jack about the Abdul Hakim, she dons this mask and wears it, becoming the protector of Cairo. At the end of it all, she leaves it behind. The new skin shows Ana wearing the Bastet mask, as well as a recolour of her normal outfit, suited better to complement the mask.
There is no current confirmation of when the skin will be available for purchase in Overwatch, but players can rest assure that it is coming.