Entertaining Overwatch Concept Imagines The Game If It Had Launched in The Late 2000s

An Overwatch fan has created a concept reimagining the game as if it had been released in the late 2000s. Overwatch was released in 2016 and became a huge success that greatly impacted first-person shooter games, getting the sequel Overwatch 2 in 2022.

With the release of Overwatch, Blizzard presented players with a game highly focused on teamwork, choosing from a cast of characters rich in abilities and stories. Blizzard’s hero shooter became a big hit among players and critics, with Overwatch winning The Game Awards in 2016, earning the coveted Game of the Year award, and getting other accolades at events such as BAFTA 2017. Overwatch laid the foundations that would be followed by Overwatch 2, but one inventive fan imagined a quite nostalgic and different origin for the first game in the series.

Reddit user jafdesign shared a series of screenshots showing what it would have been like if Overwatch had been released in the late 2000s. Named “Overwatch: Beginnings,” the title screen shows the old Microsoft logo, while the mouse pointer is customized, something characteristic of shooter games released in the 2000s. The fan draws attention to their project for its choice of fonts and interface design, featuring menus and buttons with a social function, different game modes, a player profile, hero selection, loading, and in-match screens.

Overwatch Concept Brings Back the Nostalgia of 2000s Shooters

The Overwatch 2 community reacted with much praise for the work of the OP, who used Figma software to create the interface, and Photoshop to manipulate the images. They highlighted how the fan successfully managed to evoke the feel of 2000s shooters. Other comments noted how the concept reminded them of games like Warframe in its early years, Digimon Rumble Arena, and Unreal Tournament. They also said that if it had been released in the 2000s, Overwatch would definitely have a campaign, something that doesn’t exist in Overwatch 2 either.

With the release of the anticipated Overwatch sequel, Blizzard made several changes to the gameplay and visuals of the game, but certain Overwatch 2 visual tweaks displeased the community. As a result, some Overwatch 2 players lamented the loss of features such as old menu animations. Others have shown their creativity like jafdesign did, sharing ideas such as end-of-match screens and other creative kinds of interfaces. Overwatch 2 doesn’t have unlockable menu screens, but with Blizzard providing support through frequent updates, players wait to see if this type of feature will eventually be added to the game in a patch, opening the door for more nostalgic interfaces.

Overwatch

Overwatch is an online first-person shooter in which multiple players form teams and meet different objectives, depending on the game mode. The game’s huge roster of heroes all have different abilities and playstyles, though success depends heavily on teamwork between players. The game has been listed as one of the greatest of all time and has one of the largest esports scenes in the world.

Released

May 24, 2016

Genre(s)

First-Person Shooter