Cinematic Trailer

Cinematic trailer
Publisher	Blizzard Entertainment
Release date	November 7, 2014
Link	Youtube
Transcript	Transcript
Length	6:00

The Overwatch cinematic trailer was shown as part of the game's reveal at BlizzCon 2014.

Description

In a time of global crisis, an international task force of heroes banded together to restore peace to a war-torn world. This organization, known as Overwatch, ended the crisis and helped maintain peace for a generation, inspiring an era of exploration, innovation, and discovery.

After many years, Overwatch's influence waned and it was eventually disbanded. Now in the wake of its dismantling, conflict is rising once again. Overwatch may be gone…but the world still needs heroes.

Story

The trailer opens with an epic prologue, showing the war-torn world divided by the Omnic Crisis. When the world was facing the brink of extinction, hope arose in the form of an elite international task force dubbed Overwatch. Made up of freedom fighters of all kinds willing to fight for the future of mankind (soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and auditees), Overwatch ended the war and kept the world safe from crime and villainy for a generation. Even though its time has come to an end to this very day, everything it was and everything its operatives stood for will be remembered forever.

The prologue is a holovid in the Overwatch Memorial Museum being currently admired by two young brothers; the younger, Timmy, a diehard fan of Overwatch and everything it stood for, and the elder, Brian, a boy with a jaded view of Overwatch. While they roam through the rest of the exhibit, Timmy goes on about his favorite Overwatch heroes and tries to ask Brian who he admires the most. When they arrive at Doomfist's gauntlet hovering in a glass display case, Brian expresses his own disbelief, citing that half of Overwatch's operatives are nothing but mercenaries now that Overwatch has been shut down.

Suddenly, as Timmy is imitating a rocket launcher, a suspicious rumble shakes the whole exhibit hall. When another shaker hits, Winston and Widowmaker crash through the ceiling and into the museum. When they recover, Winston shields the boys from Widowmaker's gunfire and orders them to find cover. Reaper then shows up, ready to even the score and Widowmaker has Doomfist's gauntlet in her sights through her rifle's targeting scope. Tracer then shows up and levels the playing field with her own blasters and agility, revealing that she and Winston are on a mission to thwart Reaper and Widowmaker's play for the gauntlet. A massive gunfight ensues and the exhibit hall becomes an all-out warzone. When Tracer's chronal accelerator momentarily loses its charge, she leaps behind one of the exhibit podiums for cover. Little did she know that's where Brian and Timmy were hiding. Seeing them afraid in a frankly nerv-racking situation, she assures them that everything is handled as long as the Cavalry's here, much to Timmy's joy. When Reaper stuns Winston, Brian and Timmy watch from a distance as Widowmaker is readying to steal the gauntlet and Tracer quietly encourages her partner to get back up and resume the battle. When Reaper moves in for his kill blow, he callously steps on and squishes Winston's spectacles (which he lost during the fight), triggering Winston's Primal Mode and getting him back in the fight. Tracer does so as well when her accelerator reactivates. But when she charges off, Brian decides he can't just sit around anymore in the presence of evil and orders his little brother to stay put while he goes for the gauntlet. While Widowmaker is distracted, Brian snatches the gauntlet while Tracer and Winston keep Reaper busy. When Widowmaker is about to find Brian, Timmy shouts him a warning, distracting her long enough for Brian to make his move. Armed with the gauntlet, he throws a seismic punch at Widowmaker that sends her flying through several sheets of glass and him on the floor from the kickback. The gauntlet is heavily damaged from the attack and falls off of Brian's arm and Widowmaker recovers, preparing for her kill blow. However, Winston and Tracer come to the rescue with him blocking her attacks and her commandeering Widowmaker's rifle. Reaper and Widowmaker have no choice but to abort their mission at that point, so they escape through the hole in the ceiling they came in with the help of Widowmaker's tetherline and Winston is in hot pursuit with the aid of his jump pack.

Just before Tracer can join him, she turns her attention to the boys. When Brian hands her the gauntlet, she tells them that there's always room for more heroes in the world and gives them a fine salute before putting the gauntlet back in its display and charging off to head off the criminals. Brian is left standing motionless with inspiration in his eyes from Tracer's words and Timmy cheers out of utter excitement from being right in the middle of such an epic battle. The boys share a hug and the trailer ends with a holographic mural representing all of Overwatch's operatives illuminating behind them.

Featured Characters

• Timmy
• Brian
• Winston
• Reaper
• Widowmaker
• Tracer

Trivia

• The short is also referred to as The Exhibit.
• The security guard is playing Hearthstone.
• The trailer spent twelve months in pre-production and required "over 300 man months of artist labor."
• Doomfist was first mentioned in the short. It took 3 years from 2014 to make his debut as a hero.
• Tracer would never use Widow's kiss in-game unlike this cinematic.
• This is the second battle of Tracer and Winston against Widowmaker and Reaper. Both fought in cinematics (Alive for Widowmaker and Tracer, Recall for Reaper and Winston)
• This cinematic has a lot of things that is not present in-game:
  • Tracer using another gun.
  • Tracer ran out of energy with her chronal accelerator.
  • Reaper casts smoke first then death blossom
  • Widowmaker's ultimate is used for scanning the artifact
  • Winston has no equipment.