Echo

Echo
Real Name	Echo
Affiliation	Overwatch

Echo is a robot affiliated with Overwatch.

Story

Long after the disbandment of Overwatch, Echo was being transported in a crate on a military freight train. The train was derailed by the Deadlock Gang, but they were incapacitated by McCree. He then proceeded to reactivate her. She was unaware of how much time had passed, and was taken aback to see that McCree's left arm had been replaced by a cybernetic graft. He evaded telling her the details, but informed her of Winston's recall of Overwatch agents, that while he'd been summoned, she was the one that Overwatch needed. He then departed on a hoverbike, saying that he had some business of his own to attend to.

Trivia

• Echo was inside the payload in Route 66 (although she could not be seen). She was later removed alongside the release of the Reunion animated short.
• Her original concept name, Iris, may be related to The Iris, a concept connected to omnics.
• Her concept design appears alongside other heroes in the holovid on display at the Overwatch Museum during the Overwatch cinematic trailer.
• Echo's 'face' is a holographic projection. This would allow her a wide degree of facial expressions, similar to other robots like Snowball as opposed to omnics, who are generally more static in their facial expression.

Development

Early concept art of Echo, then named Iris.

Echo, initially named Iris, was first conceived as a hero for the pitch meeting for Prometheus, which became Overwatch. Her initial design was taken from unused Project Titan concept art, and she was one of the marquee heroes prominently featured in the Prometheus "hero lineup" key art. In the original Prometheus pitch deck, she had the following abilities: Particle Beam, Speed Boost, and Shield, which may have served as inspiration for Zarya and Lucio.

In early concept art for Echo, her design featured both the Athena and Vishkar Corporation logos at different points, but they were only added to fill in empty spaces on the design and did not accurately reflect her lore.

According to Jeff Kaplan, Echo is a very important character and a large story is going to unfold that involves her. Though choosing to remain vague, he indicated that the development team is very interested in making her a playable hero.