Every time a new hero is hinted to join the extensive roster in Overwatch 2, fans always like to point to characters hinted at from previous animated shorts or from lore that the team has released over time. One of the animated shorts focused on D.Va’s tale, as part of a group of mech-users simply known as MEKA. This group of South Korean mech pilots was highlighted as D.Va’s friends, each with a unique name and color scheme.
Fans grew attached to these characters, and anytime the Overwatch 2 team started to hint at a new hero, one of the MEKA team is almost always mentioned in a Twitter thread or elsewhere online. With Lifeweaver’s recent release, another potential MEKA hero didn’t join the Overwatch team, but that didn’t stop people from asking about that possibility.
A MEKA hero not out of the question for the future
In an interview with Dexerto, lead hero designer Alec Dawson talked more about adding another MEKA hero into the Overwatch squad.
One of the first things mentioned was distinguishing new MEKA heroes from others, especially D.Va. Overwatch as a franchise has always had heroes that are very visually distinct, helping players and fans tell them apart easily. That might not be as easy with two MEKA units in the same lobby.
“I think one thing we’d have to consider is: does that hero pop out of the mech too?”, Dawson asked. “What’s the silhouette of that hero if they’re in a different role?”
Not only that, but with D.Va in the tank role, it would make sense that another MEKA would probably be another tank unit. There is the possibility of making a MEKA hero in another role, but making it fit would take some effort.
“Mechs are pretty big, right? MEKA in particular, so how can we make it so they don’t look like a tank next to D.Va? It would be like you have two tanks on your team,” Dawson said. “So there could be a number of challenges there, but who knows.”
If this new MEKA hero would be a tank, with Overwatch 2 having only one tank per team, the MEKA pair wouldn’t be able to play with each other in non-Arcade modes, possibly clearing that confusion up a bit. But it’s still a difficult task for devs if they decide to add one of D.Va’s teammates to differentiate the two.
Just because it’s a great idea doesn’t mean it’ll work
This discussion has circulated around the fanbase for a while, with notable comments from the dev team around it just under a year ago from Reddit. The team knows there is a want, and they themselves would like to do it. However, making the pieces fit is important for a game as unique as Overwatch 2, both in gameplay and in style.
Plus, this isn’t even the first time in recent memory that fans want a character from an animated short to be incorporated into the game. Kiriko had the same treatment, as her gang in Kanezaka had a myriad of interesting people that fans started to brainstorm around.
Fans of the MEKA group will have to stick to what they have now, D.Va, but hopes for another aren’t gone just yet.
