Has anyone compiled an up-to-date "consume" order for chronological Overwatch lore?

I would love to see something like that. Every time I talk about Overwatch being one of my favorite games, people tend to joke about the lack of story, and while I do agree the story hasn’t gone all that far from the beginning, I still feel like there’s a lot more then people think

Between the comics, cinematics, skin descriptions, archives brawls, and spawn interactions, I feel like there’s actually quite a bit of story to unpack

I hope the rumors of Overwatch 2 are true, but regardless, I’m still pretty happy with the way the lore works currently even if it is dulled out really slowly

[Here’s the post I made on reddit that explains the whole timeline (with links).]

~ 30-25 years ago:

  • The Omnic Crisis. Gabriel Reyes (Reaper), Jack Morrison (Soldier: 76), Ana Amari, Torbjorn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm and Liao form the Overwatch strike team and take out key targets to end the war.

23 years ago:

  • Operation: White Dome. Torbjorn is badly injured, losing his arm. Reinhardt is a hero, and Torbjorn gives him the honour of naming his youngest child. Brigitte Lindholm is born.

~ 20 years ago:

  • South Korea is attacked by a massive omnic that would become known as the Gwishin, or ghost. Every few years, the omnic would return, having adapted and learned from previous attacks.
  • The Deadlock Gang is busted in an Overwatch sting operation. Jesse McCree is given the choice between joining Blackwatch or rotting in jail. McCree chose Blackwatch.

~15 years ago:

9 years ago:

8 years ago:

  • Retribution - several attacks on Overwatch facilities (including several attempts on Gerard Lacroix’s life) prompt Blackwatch to strike back against Talon; the plan goes awry and the public learns about Blackwatch.
  • Public opinion of Overwatch turns sour, and a formal investigation into Overwatch’s activities is launched.
  • Slipstream pilot Lena “Tracer” Oxton is lost in time and subsequently rescued by Overwatch scientist Winston.
  • Overwatch shuts down the Anubis Project in Cairo, leading to the destabilization of the region.

7 years ago:

  • Talon finally succeeds in killing Gerard Lacroix by using his wife as a sleeper agent.
  • Null Sector uprising in King’s Row; Morrison disobeys orders from the British PM and Director Petras, sending in a strike team. The strike team succeeds in rescuing the hostages and stopping the uprising.

6 years ago:

5 years ago:

  • Genji leaves Overwatch and wanders the world, seeking inner peace.
  • The UN inquiry into Overwatch’s activities concludes and the Petras Act is passed, outlawing Overwatch activities.
  • Overwatch is officially disbanded.

Present day:

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If by consume order I think you mean, what order to watch/read everything in? In that case, here are three lists:

1 - Media Order:

  • Cinematic Trailer
  • Blog Post “Overwatch Is Back”
  • The rest of the shorts, Recall to Reunion
  • Comics, from Train Hopper to Retribution
  • The Plan
  • Short Stories Bastet and WYLB
  • Retribution/Storm Rising cinematics
  • Doomfist Origin Short (The anime looking one)

If you want more for specific heroes, watch their origin trailers or read their bios. Most blogs are just background info.

2 - Chronological Relevance Order (Confusing and not recommended):

  • Omnic Crisis (the war was ~30 years ago, but the Bastion waking up is ~20 years ago):
    – The Last Bastion
  • Overwatch Era (All these take place 10-5 years ago):
    – Junkenstein
    – Retribution Comic + Cinematics
    – Uprising Comic
    – Legacy
    – Storm Rising Cinematics
    – Doomfist Origin Short
    – Blog Post “Overwatch Is Back”
  • Post-Fall Era (After the fall of Overwatch, all take place 5-1 years ago):
    – Wasted Land
    – Train Hopper
    – Dragon Slayer
    – Going Legit
    – A Better World
    – Mission Statement
    – Destroyer
    – Hero
    – Shooting Star
    – Old Soldiers
    – Bastet
    – The Plan
  • Recall (Takes place within the past year):
    – Recall
    – Alive
    – Dragons
    – Rise and Shine
    – Honour and Glory
    – Reflections
    – Binary
    – Reunion
  • Talon Rising (Takes place within the past year post Recall):
    – Infiltration
    – Masquerade
    – What You Left Behind
    – Searching

3 - Just the key stories:

  • Watch the shorts in either order. All of them + The Plan and Doomfist Origins
    – If you are really in a rush, you can skip Hero and Shooting Star.
  • Read “Overwatch is Back” and What You Left Behind
  • For comics, read:
    – Wasted Land (Junkers backstory)
    – A Better World (summarizes Brazil’s situation. For more, read Lucio’s bio)
    – Legacy (Ana Backstory)
    – Old Soldiers (Ana Present day, read Bastet after for more)
    – Binary (Torb/Bastion Present Day)
    – Masquerade (Talon Rising)

After that, read more comics, blog posts, or bios for your favourite characters or who you want to learn more about.

I’d suggest just watching all the shorts, reading the comics, the short stories, and Overwatch is Back.

Overgosh made a timeline recently, I’ll post it. It’s what I use when I work on lore for Overwatch (I’m not a writer for the team, I just like to write)





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Overgosh timelines are always great, thanks for posting this!

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