The month of February marks Blizzard Entertainment’s 30th anniversary, and the long-running company has a bunch of surprises and activities planned to celebrate the occasion, including the highly anticipated BlizzCon Online event this February 19 and 20. The event won’t start until next week though, but Blizzard has other means to entertain the fans while they wait.
For one thing, the developer and publisher recently released several concept art for the different video games in its repertoire. Included in this is its highly popular first-person shooter game, Overwatch.
Over on the official Overwatch Twitter account, the company has shared original concept art for different playable heroes, namely Sombra, Soldier: 76, and Mercy. For the Sombra concept art, it reveals what the character would have looked like if she remained as Omniblade. Instead of being Mexican, this initial version of Sombra was a Japanese woman, and mainly utilized throwing daggers. On the other hand, the Sombra that made it to the final version of Overwatch uses a submachine gun.
UPDATE: Sombra Early Ideation was created in 2014, not 1994.
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 8, 2021
Now, the original concept art for Mercy is interesting because her initial design used to be that of a male character. This male version of Mercy had a white and red color scheme, while the Mercy we know and love today has a color scheme of white and yellow.
That being said, the Overwatch community has been aware of Mercy’s original concept for quite some time now, so this isn’t that surprising. As a matter of fact, there have been several fans who cosplayed the original male Mercy in the past.
#FromTheVault: We all know Angela Ziegler as Mercy, but before the creation of the character we know and love, Mercy took the concepted form of both male and female Valkyrie characters.#Blizz30 pic.twitter.com/Om8Ht5MOqq
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 8, 2021
Lastly, the original concept art for Soldier: 76 is probably the most intriguing out of this group. The photos of the designs were shared on Overwatch’s official Latin America Twitter account, showcasing character designs by Chris Metzen from way back in 1998. Albeit a bit different, the original design for Solder: 76 isn’t that far off from the current look we know and are familiar with today. Although, the older design has the character covering his face with a blue mask.
Another concept art for Soldier: 76 was made by Arnold Tsang in 2013, and this time around, the concept looks much closer to the character’s current design—with a few differences here and there, of course.
https://twitter.com/OverwatchLatAm/status/1358877811897958403?s=20
In this early version of the character, the listed name is simply “Seventy Six,” while the art itself has him wielding an SMG. The most notable detail about this 2013 version, however, is that Soldier: 76 doesn’t have his signature mask and visor. As such, fans have a clear view of his face and what he supposedly looks like.
Asides from these minute details, though, Arnold Tsang’s concept art looks pretty close to the final version of the character, including the hair color, color scheme, outfit, and scar, among other details.
Given the fact that Blizzard is constantly adding new skins to Overwatch, it’s actually quite surprising why cosmetics based on these original versions haven’t been made or released yet. It would be great to see these well-loved characters donning the outfits from their past. If Blizzard sees that there’s enough demand from fans, then perhaps they’d make a move to release skins out of these designs.
