'Overwatch' Datamine Reveals Romantic Talk Between Heroes
Woah, we weren't supposed to hear this yet!
Rarely does the data-mining of a video game fuel the fires in the hearts of shippers around the world, but if some newly plundered voice lines recently added to Blizzard’s Overwatch are to be trusted, then we might be able to infer that everyone’s favorite cyborg ninja and winged, angelic doctor are a chocolate-loving item. That’s right, Genji and Mercy might be dating.
Eeeek!
Recent patches made to the game haven’t been live for long on the test servers — in addition to a traumatic Roadhog nerf to his hook — but they also include some brand new voice lines between Genji and Mercy in which they chat about sending each other chocolates.
In-universe, we know that the two characters have a history that previously wasn’t romantic in any way. Genji once was the youngest son in the Shimada ninja clan, with his older brother being the archer Hanzo. Despite urging from his older brother, Genji dedicated much of his time to partying as a rich playboy with little interest in the criminal empire that was his legacy. This led to a bitter confrontation between Genji and Hanzo that left Genji nearly dead and Hanzo believing he had killed his little brother. The conclusion of said brotherly tension was featured in the animated short, “Dragons.”
Following his first confrontation with Hanzo, Genji was left on the brink of death but rescued by the Overwatch team and cared for by Dr. Angela Ziegler, who players know as Mercy. She successfully cyberized his mind, preserving him inside a highly advanced synthetic body. Genji would later go through an existential crisis, abandon Overwatch, and then spend years basking in transcendence with the omnic monk, Zenyatta. But now, these data-mined bits of dialogue reveal a bit more intimacy between Genji and Mercy rather than what’s typical between patient and doctor:
Mercy tells Genji that she got him some Swiss chocolates, to which he responds “Thank you, Angela” before suggesting that they share them:
Genji also attempts to reciprocate, but “Angela” is a bit disappointed by some non-Swiss chocolates:
Some theorized these might be part of some Valentine’s Day-themed event akin to those Overwatch hosted for Halloween or Christmas, but Game Director Jeff Kaplan assured fans on the Overwatch forums that there is neither a Valentine’s nor Easter event planned.
Keep in mind that there’s also another bit of dialogue between Hanzo and Genji regarding chocolates in which the former remarks that chocolates are Genji’s “amusement,” not his.
It’s worth noting that several pairs of characters have interactions before matches should they be paired up on teams; these new lines will likely be new examples of that. As it stands now, Genji already has one with both Hanzo and Zenyatta, among others.
And, don’t forget, they shared an exchange via letters in the Christmas comic:
More talk of chocolates, or something else?
