Unanswered Questions

Kaedi-11739 · July 11, 2020, 9:10pm

The exact cause is unknown but there is a News Article that details the failure of the Ominum Corporation.

The Omnic Crisis

When Omnica Corporation revolutionized robotic manufacturing, it seemed the world was on the verge of entering an economic golden age. Their massive factories of automated construction machines and self-improving software algorithms were patented, marketed as “omniums,” and installed on every continent.

What came next is well-documented. The omniums began to break down. Independent analysis showed they would never come close to meeting the corporation’s promises of growth and output. Omnica was investigated and forcibly dissolved after evidence of fraud was uncovered, its omniums shut down.

That is why it came as such a surprise when these defunct, dismantled omniums woke themselves back up and immediately launched a military campaign against all of humanity.

This was a war many countries thought they were prepared to fight. But no single country, no matter how powerful its military, could permanently shut down a single omnium. The adaptability of robots, once celebrated by humanity, had become a tactical nightmare. Worst of all, there were no demands from the omnics. There was no ideological reason for their aggression. They simply attacked, and we did not understand why.

Source: Overwatch is Back: Uncertainty and Hope After UN Confirms Vigilante Activity - News - Overwatch

The same news article details this:

Overwatch: A Change In Strategy

No country was succeeding in securing its own territory. But some soldiers and strategists showed remarkable ingenuity in acclimating to this new brand of warfare. The United Nations covertly brought a few of these unique minds together to form a small, nimble team, aimed at striking significant blows against omnic strongholds. Their names—Morrison, Reyes, Amari, Liao, Wilhelm, and Lindholm—have since become legendary. The world would come to know them as the founders of Overwatch.

In highly secretive missions, they targeted the omnics’ command and control protocols. After great sacrifice and heroism in a series of dangerous raids, they destroyed it all, rendering the omnic armies inert. The Omnic Crisis had finally come to an end.

For decades, as Overwatch grew, they made global stability their mission. And the world was happy to have them. Rogue omnics, terrorism, warmongering dictators, none of them could stand for long against such a capable, dedicated force. During natural disasters, we watched heroic rescue operations and efficient rebuilding initiatives. We saw Overwatch pioneer scientific initiatives to eradicate epidemics, reverse ecological damage, and develop new breakthroughs in medical care. They were a symbol of hope. An entire generation, my generation, was raised to see them as the best of humanity.

Source: Overwatch is Back: Uncertainty and Hope After UN Confirms Vigilante Activity - News - Overwatch

From what I know, Talon to some capacity might have existed even before the Omnic crisis, but this is one of the true unanswered questions

See above.

There is little on the exact causes of Overwatch’s downfall, but this is a decent summary again from the same article:

The Fall

Overwatch never had a shortage of critics. Even in its glory days, many voices called for severe restrictions on the agency’s mission, insisting that such a powerful group of individuals needed careful oversight. Rumors of black-ops missions—carrying out tasks like assassination and kidnapping—were dismissed by the public as paranoid fantasies.

But as time passed, criticism became harder to shrug off, and the agency seemed to be tone-deaf to public concerns. Controversial missions stoked public outrage until it reached a fever pitch, and some of Overwatch’s most famous and celebrated agents were forced to retire in disgrace. If that had been the end of it, many might have accepted these missteps as the unavoidable signs of an aging, bloated bureaucracy, suffering under monolithic leadership that desperately needed a change in direction. The truth was much worse than that.

In the final years of Overwatch’s existence, a top secret division called “Blackwatch” was revealed. There were stories of assassination, coercion, kidnapping, torture, and worse. Governments called on the UN to shut down the “aggressive and repeated violations of many countries’ sovereignty.” As public distrust swelled, a massive explosion wiped out Overwatch’s headquarters in Switzerland. The United Nations called it an accident; today we know it was a battle, a dispute between Overwatch commander Jack Morrison and Blackwatch commander Gabriel Reyes. Overwatch’s death knell was that of two former comrades laying waste to all they had built.

In the wake of such an incident, little could remain hidden. The full transgressions of Overwatch’s shadow operations became known. Even the most ardent defenders inside the organization bowed to the truth and called for its dissolution.

The United Nations could do nothing but shut down Overwatch. Few people at the time doubted it was the right call. The world had never been more peaceful—the biggest threat to global stability and growth was, in many minds, Overwatch itself. Its time had passed.

All we know it’s a “secret”…

Source: Overwatch 2 - Heroes - Sigma

In general, mostly from dissent from Jack Morrison and a growing frustration to how Overwatch was run. (See above about the Fall of Overwatch.)

Volskaya Industries is a contracted manufacturing conglomerate by the nation of Russia to manufacture arms and mechs.
The Vishkar Corporation of southern India rose up and begun a laborious process of creating new, self-sustaining cities to house the nation’s displaced population following the Omnic Crisis. One such city, Utopaea, was created using radical hard-light technology that enabled its architects to shape the city’s streets, utilities, and living spaces in the blink of an eye. Vishkar often builds cities under contracts that allow them to govern the populace. (The Symmetra Comic “A Better World” grants us insight on Vishkar’s dealings)
Helix Security International is a privately-owned corporation that is contracted by several nations and the United Nations council to provide various security services wherever nation militaries did not have the means to do so. From what I understand they took over a lot of Overwatch’s security functions including the administration of any penal facilities (including the facility where Doomfist was held and escaped from as seen in the Doomfist Origin Story short and Masquerade comic)

Zenyatta is an Omnic who is a member of the Shambali.

Source: Overwatch 2 - Heroes - Zenyatta

Details on Solider’s past relationships can be found in the recently released short story for Ana called “Bastet”.

I maintain an archive of most Lore related responses in the Overewatch Developer Post Archives here: