The Complete Timeline of Overwatch Lore and Story So Far! (Up to Overwatch 2)

The Overwatch 2 lore, timeline and story has evolved and grown through so many media, it can be hard to keep track! Here's a complete Overwatch lore timeline up to the launch of Overwatch 2, encompassing 8 years of Overwatch interactions, voice-lines, environmental storytelling, Overwatch animated shorts, comics, short stories, novels, twitter teasers, interviews at Blizzcon, Comic Con panels and in written media, and so much more!
TIMECODES:
0:14 - Introduction
2:52 - The Near Future of Overwatch
4:46 - The Rise of Omnica Corporation
6:41 - The Omnic Crisis (First)
9:26 - The Founding of Overwatch - The First Strike Team
13:23 - The end of the Crisis
16:13 - Overwatch Expansion and Activity - The Golden Age
18:27 - The Post-Crisis World - Global Events
25:03 - Overwatch Overexpansion - Internal Problems
28:53 - Global Problems Arising
31:23 - Political Pressure on Overwatch
33:10 - Overwatch Retribution - The Venice Incident
37:47 - Gerard Lacroix Dies/Widowmaker
39:05 - Overwatch Uprising - The King's Row Uprising
42:29 - Storm Rising - Chasing Talon and Maximilien
46:14 - Overwwatch's End - The Swiss HQ Incident
49:00 - Post-Overwatch World - Disorder and Decay
51:34 - Talon Rising - Reyes/Reaper Joins (Code of Violence Short Story)
53:22 - Heroes and Villains Post Overwatch Events
57:49 - Morrison Lives (Hero Animated Short)
59:04 - Old Soldiers Comic
1:00:01 - The Recall and Second Omnic Crisis (Recall Animated Short)
1:02:27 - Tracer in London (London Calling Comic)
1:06:49 - Mei's Tragedy (Rise and Shine Animated Short)
1:08:05 - Reinhardt Returns (Honor and Glory Animated Short)
1:09:21 - Baptiste Resurfaces (What You Left Behind Story)
1:11:09 - Pharah, Cassidy and Junkers Antics (Mission Statement, Going Legit and Trainhopper Comics)
1:13:06 - The Museum
1:13:48 - The Last Bastion
1:14:42 - Genji and Hanzo Reunite (Dragons)
1:15:50 - Kiriko, Asa Yamagami and the Hashimoto
1:16:11 - Talon Attack Volskaya (Infiltration)
1:18:31 - D.va Defends Korea (Shooting Star)
1:19:54 - Mercy under Fire (Valkyrie Story)
1:20:52 - Heroes post-Recall (Reflections Comic)
1:23:18 - Doomfist Takes Talon (Masquerade)
1:24:34 - Efi and Orisa (The Hero of Numbani)
1:26:30 - Symmetra and Zenyatta (Stone By Stone)
1:27:57 - Echo Returns (Reunion Short)
1:29:39 - The New Blood Comics - McCree, Pharah, Baptiste, Zarya and D.va
1:36:33 - Null Sector Attack Paris (Zero Hour Short)
1:39:41 - Kiriko and The Yokai (Kiriko Short)
Some is interpretation off relative dates - I've tried to be as close as I think is reasonably possible, but there'll be some debatable bits. Feel free to do so, but be kind to each other - this is a take and interpretation that I hope entertains and helps people get into or dive deeper into Overwatch Lore. :)
Thanks to everyone who's supported my channel over the years, whether watching, subbing, commenting or all - it really has helped! Big shout to everyone who's supported on patreon.com/Hammeh over that time, at any time, too - definitely made this possible :)
Love to hear your thoughts in comments, and what you'd like to see made here next!
Hammeh
--
Follow me on your platform of chosing :)
-TWITTER - / hammehlore
-TIKTOK - / hammehlore
-INSTAGRAM - / hammehlore
-TWITCH - / hammehow
-FACEBOOK - / hammehlore
--
All audio discussion and production of audio and this video arrangement (TM) Hammeh 2022
All gameplay and assets (tm) their respective owners - use of this content on KZbin or with the Adsense Program is permitted by Blizzard as part of their video or content creation policies.
All audio - Epidemic Sounds, KZbin Audio Library, Blizzard Entertainment.
#overwatch2 #overwatch #timeline #lore #story

[@Hammeh]

Timecodes in Description! Comment with your favourite piece of Overwatch lore so far, and what you'd like to see in the timeline of Overwatch 2 lore and story! Like/Subscribe for more and if you enjoy (sorry it really helps :)) Hope this is a nice explainer for new Overwatch players and fun for existing Overwatch timeline fans to catch up! Fixed some audio and added Kiriko Animated short to make it complete complete for now! Love to hear your thoughts in the comments. It's an interpretation, but trying to make it as complete and relatively accurate as possible. Hope you enjoy and thanks for all the support over the years, you all made this possible :) Hammeh

[@Landis963]

Will you revisit this video later down the line, as events happen and/or are revealed?

[@premiumheadpats4150]

Think I'll listen to it while I work today. Like a podcast.

[@moadz_125]

One thing i really want is more story on kiriko and her yokai gang I honestly love her and hope they do give us more loren

[@cyolite5671]

😢😢😊😅😊😊😢😊😊🎉🎃😢😢🎉😢😊😊😢😢😅😢😢😊😅😢😢🎉😢😢😊😢😢😢😊😊😊😢😊🎃😅😢😢😢😊😢😢😢😅😢😅😅😢😊😢😅😅😅😢😢😊😊🎉😊🎉❤😢😢🎉😢😅🎉😂😢😢😢😢😅😢❤😊😊😢😢😢😢❤😅😊😊😢😅😢😢😅😢😊🎉😅🎉😢🎉😊😊😊😅🎃🎉😢😢😢😢😅😊🎉😢😢😊😅😅🎉😊😢😢😊😢😢😊😊😅🎉🎉😢😊🎉😊😢😢😊😢😊😢😊😅😊🎃😢😊😢😊😊😊😢😊😢😢😅🎉😢😢😊😊😢🎉😅😢😢😢😢😅😊😢🎉😢😊🎃😢😢😅😢😢😢😊😊😊😊😅😢😢🎃😊😊😢😊😢😢😊😢😊😊😊😊😊😢😢🎉😢😂😅😅😊😢🎃😢😢😢😅🎉😊😢😢😊😢🎉😢😊😊🎉🎉😅😢❤😢🎉🎉😢😢🎃😢😊😢😊😢🎉😊🎉😢😢🎃😢😢😢😅😢😢😢😢😊😊😢😊😢😊😢😊🎉😢😅😢🎃🎃😅😢😢😢😊😢🎉😢😢😢😊😢😊😊😊😢😢🎃😊😢😢😊😊😢😅😢😊😊😢😊😢😅🎃😊😊😢😢😢😊😢😢😊🎉😢😊😢😢😢😅😢😢😢🎃😢🎃🎃😢😢😢😢😅😂😊😢😅🎉😊😅😅😅😊🎃😊😢🎉😢😊😢😂😢😢😢😢😊🎉😢😢😢😂😢😊🎉😊🎉😂🎉😊😢😢😅😢😢😊😊😢😊😊😢😅😅😊😊😢😊😢🎃🎃😢😊😊🎉😢🎉😢😊😊😊🎉😊😢🎃😊😊🎃😢🎉😊😢😊😢😢😢😢🎉😊😅🎉😊😊😊❤😊😢😢😊🎃😢😢😢😊😅😢😢😊😅😢😢😅😅😊😅😊😊😊🎉😊😢😢😅😢🎉😂😢😢😢😢😊😊😊😊😢😢😊😢😢😊🎉🎉😊😢😢😊😢😢😢😢😅😊😊😢😅😊😢😢😢😢😅😊😊😊😊😢😊😊😊😊😢😊😊😢😊😢😅😢😢😅😊😢😊😊🎉😅😊😢😊😊😢🎉😢😢😊😊😢😊😊🎉😢🎉😅😢😢🎉😅😢🎉😢😢😢❤😢😅😢😊😅😢😊😊😢😊❤😅😢😢😢😢😢😢😅🎉😅😢😢😊🎉🎃😢😢😢🎉😢🎉😢😢🎉🎃😢😊😊🎉😊😊😢😊😢😊😢🎉😢😅yy im ol

[@JimiPhoenix1111]

You forgot the rest of the bunker story. Junk day and bunker queen's animated shorts

[@deijix]

I love that Bastions backstory is “what if we gave a sweet robot PTSD? OH, and an emotional support bird!”

[@flaviomonteiro1414]

And also make him a hideous killing machine that melt the enemy team (at least in OW 1)

[@bsadako1336]

@@flaviomonteiro1414 adorable *

[@Ava-sr6uu]

and a torbjorn

[@anonymousperson946]

It’s the best He is the best character I love him so much

[@godsrevolver9737]

@@anonymousperson946 kiriko numbah one

[@deijix]

What happened to Emile Lacroix is so heartbreaking. She was simply a ballerina. She wasn’t even part of Overwatch or any of the other organizations, she was simply married to someone who was. Then she was tortured, brainwashed into being unable to feel human emotion, and then ordered to kill the love of her life. And it seems on some level, she still remembers Gerard and her past life and even allows herself to mourn and long for them sometimes when she is alone. You can tell the original Emile is still in there somewhere, trapped in a void of non-emotion, unable to truly process the death of her beloved and that it was by her hand. Makes me wonder if she was smart enough to fake being completely brainwashed so that she could retain some of her original self, even if that meant she knew she had to kill him…

[@Adamsmasher93]

I unfortunately see widows story ending as tragically as well.

[@ruben-xt8hm]

She's not real bro

[@sapphibee]

@@ruben-xt8hm it’s called having empathy 😭

[@badpc902]

@@sapphibeeTowards a fictional character?

[@striker757]

@@badpc902 nothing wrong being empathic towards fiction?

[@Swaggalicious]

This is by far the best timeline of the story I have seen. I've watched a few others and they felt kinda all over the place and didn't cover the comic stuff as opposed to how this one feels very collected, tells the story in a linear way, and is overall just a very well made video. It deserves way more views and I hope it explodes very soon.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking the time to say so Swagg, and to watch! It's long for sure, and a different approach (cool to have other interpretations and takes - be a boring world if not!). Enjoyed making it, and if people who watch it enjoy, that is honestly the best and the main thing. Views of course are nice, but people who do watch (and me making it) being happy is better :) Are you enjoying OW2?

[@Swaggalicious]

@@Hammeh i’m loving Overwatch 2 way more than I initially believed I would! 5v5 is a very welcome change that is much more enjoyable and is overall healthier for the game

[@shashirupak2891]

watch SVB's Overwatch Story much better and easy to understand

[@eliargumedo4728]

this could've been better if he just spoke up a little

[@pohmot9933]

You know this is fictional because the UN actually does something.

[@Mramazing-mv2ix]

It's actually so impressive how they link the entire world together in a way that makes sense, theres: Japan, Korea, Russia, Australia, India, Egypt, Nigeria (aka Numbani), the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the North and South US, Mexico, Brazil, and even the Moon from Winston and Hammond's backstory

[@smoke_uchiha9977]

You forget Switzerland, Mercy comes from Switzerland.

[@twocheezitz9182]

And Sweden and samoa and china and Nepal and Netherlands and Ireland and Thailand Haiti peru

[@happilyisolated]

This is so cool! I had no idea that a majority of characters weren't even technically Overwatch operatives at first. This has given me a greater appreciation of the entire cast. Thanks for posting this video this has been a great watch.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for watching Ignis! The easy way is to think of the playable characters in-game as lots of people in the world. Some are Overwatch (previous or current), some are antagonists, some are non-affiliated - just in the world doing their thing (eg - Junkrat, Roadhog). Glad you enjoyed and hope to see you around in future!

[@Rattman_4126]

I wish Blizzard told us more about what happened in Switzerland base and between Morrison and Reyes. Basically what we know now are those facts: Gabe was original leader of the very first strike team. Althrough Jack was charismatic, he had some special way to reach for every other member of the team and bring best of them. Later he became formal leader. Jeff Kaplan at some point told that this actually wasn't the reason why their friendship cracked. Gabe wasn't jealous. Rather opposite infact, Gabe gladly stepped into the shadow, because he wasn't responsible for hard decissions anymore. Jack was forced to cover up for Gabe and Blackwatch. And, well, as we know from retribution comic and archive, Gabe believed that he can't do anything good for the world playing by the rules. So, Gabe did his own thing all the time: 1) He recruited Cassidy, Moira and Genji to Blackwatch. All of them are questinable candidates: one is a bandit, one is controversal scientist and one is member of mafia family. 2) Sent Cassidy in London during Uprising, ignoring the rules, basically. 3) Killed Antonio, instead of kidnapping him (which was already illegal) From code of violence we know that Doomfist carefully played on this idea, which Gabe already had: that you can't change the world for the better, if you are the part of the rotten system, if you obey the rules, which tie you up. Was it enough for Jack and Gabe to became enemies? Nope, I don't think so. Something both internal and external happened in Switzerland at the same time, as Jack says in his origin story. Funny thing is, noone knows, why exactly it blowed up in explosion. In code of violence, according to Reaper: "It had been almost a year since an explosion had torn the Overwatch Swiss headquarters to shrapnel. The last things he remembered were the flash of ignition, a terrible moment of searing heat, and Jack’s eyes, wide with horror. Then... impenetrable darkness." At first, it doesn't tell us much. But, we can figure out, that Reyes actually wasn't the one responsible for explosion. If he was responsible, why wouldn't he escape in time? He was rescued later by Moira, who was part of Talon by the time. That's convinient, isn't it? What's more convenient is that Moira's therapy damages Gabe on emotional level. He's obsessed with rage cause of it and tricked by Doomfist now. Well, I'm an optimist. Widowmaker slowly snapping out from damage Talon did to her. We saw her visiting Gerard's grave in Reflections. Maybe if she regaining emotions, it's not too late for Gabe. Then, according to Jack from Valkyrie: “I’m getting closer to finding the ones responsible. I’m getting closer to the truth.” The fervor that crept into his voice sounded like obsession. “The truth,” I said flatly. “The truth about what happened to Overwatch. About Talon. Switzerland. About everything. That’s my new mission.” “It doesn’t seem that new. Other than the masks.” “What would you have me do, then?” Jack snapped. “Fly to Gibraltar and join up with Winston? You think the same people who brought down Overwatch won’t take him down, too?” So, Jack also suspects that Switzerland and Talon are connected. From Retribution comic we can see that Talon operative blow up Rome HQ with hidden bomb, maybe something similar happened there. But it's probably bigger than we think. We know that Symm's boss also part of the Talon's council. And we also know that Sombra is looking into corporations, she tries to find out who are the ones who trully control the world. Something is coming. We have some missing pieces. Something happened after Doomfist arrest and before events in Switzerland HQ. Timeframe is big enough. I wish Blizzard told us more. How exactly Morrison survived and why he didn't save Gabe? Was he sure he died? How and why the HQ exploded, who was responsible? Was there really a fight between Gabe and Jack? What others operatives were doing at the moment? Sadly, Blizzard seems focused on the present lore.

[@Hammeh]

Me too - it's one of the white whales, and the big story they can still tell :) Great post btw, a lot to unpack there! Maybe a topic of a video in itself, the big white whales of what we don't know fully..

[@TheUnholyLordClownz]

Not to mention the secret organization that has Sombra scared enought to delete herself from ever existing and the mysterious circumstances that lead to the first Omnic War. Someone is definitely pulling strings

[@zc8673]

It's a shame we'll likely never get these answers, less likely we'll ever get them in any official canon capacity.

[@stylosa]

THE RETURN OF THE LORE LEGEND!

[@Hammeh]

Too kind sir. Everyone please watch Sty if you don't already 👍

[@endless_del]

ball and winston actually have an interaction in overwatch 2 that suggests some tension on hammond's part and that maybe there's more to the story than we really know! it's impossible to find in a regular game because there's only 1 tank, but here it is transcribed: winston: hammond, we were friends on horizon. where did we go wrong? wrecking ball: perhaps it was when you stole his rocket design. winston: oh, no! i found that in the system! it was an accident! wrecking ball: was it also an accident when you left for earth without him? and ball also has new kill lines for winston that are just pure savage. "you had it coming" and "archnemesis defeated"

[@Hammeh]

I remember this from beta, I'll dig into them more! :)

[@VJArt_]

i mean the modes without role queue are still regular matches.

[@rainoftime37]

The lore in this franchise is so fascinating, thank you for putting this video together!

[@Hammeh]

Thanks Rain, hope you enjoyed and thanks for taking the time to check it out! If you're new to Overwatch, so many things for you to watch or read and enjoy!

[@8bitnintendoguy]

Absolutely phenomenal work!! This is easily the best comprehensive breakdown of every piece of lore-related media we've been given. Can't see what else is to come!

[@Hammeh]

Thank you 8 bit! Tried to strike a balance between the key points and picking out all the media. Will do some more for fun then we will see!

[@kordiark]

I abandoned Overwatch a while ago due to the controversies... but kudos to those who kept the story of overwatch intact and beautiful. I shouldn't have stopped caring for Overwatch's art and stories.

[@dfquartzidn6151]

What kind of controversies happened here?

[@Hammeh]

Understand Kordiark . Hard to just support people and not companies that employ them around a product of the company. Hope you enjoy vid if you watch!

[@Landis963]

@@dfquartzidn6151 It's difficult to know where to begin. Suffice it to say that Activision-Blizzard's fall from grace caused many players, myself included, to abandon Overwatch among other products of theirs.

[@Hammeh]

Controversies around Activision/Blizzard approach in China, and then historic and present sexual harassment and cultural problems emerging in 2021. Some overwatch devs did say they did feel safe and had no problems on the overwatch team, so people have been torn as to if they should support a game or team or company.

[@db212006]

You stopped supporting a game created by people that weren't doing anything wrong, because of a controversy? Yikes...better stop ordering from Amazon, Walmart, Ect Ect. There are bad people everywhere, if you connect all those people to companies and good people around them and avoid them because of your ignorance, you will litteraly be sitting there with your thumb up your ass hating the whole world.

[@Moonshine1147]

This really needs a TV Series, a Movie, and many Novels!

[@Kyle-hn8qs]

I remember really enjoying your overwatch 1 lore vides back in the day (feels strange revering to overwatch 1 in past tense) so I’m glad your going into ow2 doing the same hopefully this video gets lots of attention 👍

[@Hammeh]

Cheers Kyle for watching then and now! Hope you're keeping well and maybe playing OW2!

[@starry_marz]

as a new player, I appreciate this video, it's given me a full understanding of all of these complex characters that I was looking for

[@cezzzzz]

I’m not even an overwatch fan or player but I love game lore. I’m stunned by the amount of work you have put into this video. Thanks for all u do! I was able to follow even tho I know nothing about the game ❤

[@Hammeh]

That's awesome to hear Cez, thanks for taking the time to stop by and watch! Glad you could follow with not being familiar, really wanted to achieve that. Hopefully the longer run-time was worth it! Hope you enjoyed. Lots of history and individual analysis of all the shorts, comics, assets, voicelines in my channel if you want to dive deeper!

[@GreenCatDragon]

Hammeh, I don't know how to thank you. I've followed you since day 1 when the ow lore was a barren wasteland full of uncharted territory. I feel like we went through this journey together, all of us who stuck it out or came back to ow. I got extremely emotional watching this masterpiece. This game has been such a huge part of my life for 6 years now and it's been hard for all of us. I'm a pvp player but i know ow is full of people who love ow for so many different reasons and this video really encapsulates why. I couldn't help to notice how ow's lore/plot reflects ow team's irl struggles with the franchise. I really feel like this pvp 5v5 update was like a "recall" for so many ppl and it makes me very emotional that my game is thriving for the first time in years and i can talk about it to ppl irl about it without feeling ashamed or embarrassed that i was following a "dead/struggling" game. I never felt like ow really died but i understood what ppl meant. I played everyday to keep my mechanics and gamesense sharp hoping that it would pay off one day and it finally is. I'm only Diamond5 after two weeks of grinding rank but I'm truly falling in love with the game all over again and watching this presentation that was created from your heart, idk why but it gave me this feeling of fullness that i haven't felt about the game in a long time and i feel it now more than ever. Overwatch is so good. Everything about it is so rich and the storylines hit so hard. I relate to these "old soldiers" ana, jack, and gabriel while also feeling like a kid in a new generation with the new heroes that were inspired from ow's past. Thank you Hammeh, 💜

[@zackmultimedia]

I congratulate you personally, until now I had not seen an explanation of the Lore as well worked out as it is, the dedication and effort behind this is quite noticeable, much higher than the average, I will follow your work closely

[@jrdn.r3]

Meis part made me cry, imagine going into cryogenic sleep or years with your friends with you and suddenly waking up after the many years to find out that the friends you Went into cryogenic sleep with are no longer with you

[@f04rm3r]

18:52 he's name will always be Jesse McCree

[@captainflamefart6233]

52:40 so it seems like Reaper has the potential to be redeemed, would be cool to see that happen in the PVE part of overwatch 2

[@Hammeh]

Is he too far gone? Have you read his short story Flame? Give it a go and see what you think if not!

[@hunterkinsella5303]

This aged like milk

[@nhk403]

I needed this! My little cousins just started playing and I'm gonna send them your channel for all of their lore needs. It's so great to have you continuing to covering Overwatch lore for all the newer players. I definitely missed hearing you talk about the lore! Sending love from Seattle ❤️.

[@hysteria_]

Overwatch has some of my favourite lore/story out there! I’ve been following Overwatch since it was first announced and watching it grow has been amazing. I was very young when it came out, so I can only imagine how in awe a younger me would be at all of this. Overwatch has been my longest running hyperfixation! I’m sure little me would be so excited to learn I’m still loving this game. Thank you so much for this timeline video! It’s an amazing watch :)

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking the time to watch Hysteria! Glad you enjoyed the vid - the world's awesome indeed, and so much they can do with it. Hope PVE / storymode is good later this year!

[@SoleScrewdriver]

Hammeh, I haven't really watched much you've made for a while, but it's incredibly nostalgic for me to come back to this channel for the first time since the early days of OW and see you still doing this. You're awsome.

[@Hammeh]

All good Sole, thank you for taking the time to stop by! I've been fairly quiet a year or two (not loads of lore and life priority), will see how it goes from now. Hope you enjoy! :)

[@SoleScrewdriver]

​@@Hammeh haha, I haven't even been that into OW lately since the lore drought, but with OW2 coming out I look forward to seeing what's next, clearly you feel the same :D

[@MicDubTV]

I’m so thankful to have you back making lore videos, Hammeh. You are THE go-to source on OW lore content for me & have been for years. I greatly respect you & your work and I want to say that you brighten so many lives with what you do. This game means so much to many of us & awesome creators like you make things even better. Keep making great content & I hope that the channel explodes in popularity as hype comes back to OW & as the PvE gets started!

[@Hammeh]

Too kind MicDub - thanks for sticking around/returning to watch also. Appreciate you and everyone stopping by :) Blizzard and the Overwatch team have brightened lives, I'm happy I get to be a small part of it by making things. Glad you enjoy the content anyway :) People seem to be enjoying OW, that's main thing! I'll keep making content I enjoy, Overwatch or otherwise, hope you and everyone enjoy it too. Channels growing and things is always nice (I won't complain if it does), but it's not everything!

[@Jim674the18]

This was a great watch. Thank you for putting it all together. Seems like a HUGE piece of work

[@Hammeh]

Appreciate you taking the time Jim! Glad you enjoyed, thanks for commenting and hope you're enjoying OW2! It did take a while, originally wanted it out before Overwatch 2 released. Figured it was worth doing the way I wanted rather than rush it :)

[@x_kokopuff_x]

Why couldn't this be a campaign story instead of separate medias? I never even KNEW that there was comics and animations full of meaningful lore.

[@theraaaa]

That has honestly been the best recap video I've ever seen, i dont even want to think about how much time this must have taken. Thank you!

[@Hammeh]

Thank you for watching and taking the time Theraa!

[@Shippou011]

Had to run it back and replay everything after you started talking about Zero Hour, cause the music alone from that short makes me cry. Beautiful video, thank you for putting it all together.

[@Hammeh]

Cheers for taking the time to watch and stop by, glad you enjoyed! Zero Hour is a great short - the 'Central' Story/Narrative Designs and Animation teams always seem to nail them!

[@skystruck236]

This makes when Cassidy meets Echo again so much sweeter. Loved this vid

[@AmandolinJay]

So much work going into this... fantastic job!

[@Nobanion]

This was a fantastically put together video & much needed for me to keep the story of Overwatch in mind as I play though it! Though, in my hot take, I believe that Cassidy's name change is actually canon within the story of Overwatch, around the time of New Blood. According to Sombra's voice line about learning his real name & he commented on that "It's not Joel" suggests that Cassidy might have given up his birth name to become McCree, as a way to sound more badass within the Deadlock Gang & to hide his original family to any connections back to him, in case they get hurt or harassed trying to locate him to collect his bounty & bring him to justice. After spending so much time looting within the Deadlock Gang, covert operations of Blackwatch & other various oddjobs he's not proud of after the disbanding of Overwatch; he finds that after the Recall had been activated, he found the time to reflect on his past regrets & mistakes. Spurred by Ana to recruit the New Blood into the newly re-formed Overwatch proper, he gave himself the new identity "Cole Cassidy" as a means of wiping his moral slate clean & to once again throw off various bounties he would have picked up across the globe. While his face is the same that others would recognize his past actions, in the public eye, he'll finally be recognized as a proper hero within the story of Overwatch moving forward, despite his dark history. This is just my headcanon, of course. There wasn't any in-canon explanation & it was Blizzard's attempt to wipe clean of one of their "situations" & stating that his name has always been Cole. But it makes a lot of sense to me when looking back at past media with the previous name, like the comics or Deadlock novel & it's very fitting that an outlaw with no name would do something like this, just like "The Man with No Name" made famous by Clint Eastwood, which is clearly an inspiration for Cassidy.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for stopping by Burning! I think there's a relative 'he could have been going by an alias' thread that his voicelines pre-Blizzardgate could have suggested anyway. So, we can say he's using his real name now. It works as a change, and if people don't like it...his name needed changing anyway. Have you read Deadlock Rebels? Should if you haven't! Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment - hope you're enjoying the new game!

[@misterk3722]

Hammeh, your lore videos back in 2016 was what got me into the game and lore in the first place, will always have a very special place in my heart for your channel.

[@Hammeh]

I'm so glad misterk. That's really kind and always makes me happy to hear people have enjoyed Overwatch from my videos as much as I've enjoyed the game and world. Hope you're well and cheers for popping by/visiting again, and sticking around this long!

[@Air_Dan]

Great video. I really like that now I know the comics and written stories through this. I find it crazy that the lore is so limited because there are so many interesting people and events. I think a few things PVE could touch on are a massive battle between Null Sector and everyone who is at the Gibraltar base, a Kiriko, Hanzo, Genji team up to save Kirikos dad and dismantle the hasimotos, Doomfist and Ramttra vs Soldier 76, Reinhardt, Ana, and Zenyatta, and anything with Lucio cause they have like never animated him for some reason haha.

[@infernophoenix4.]

It’s been almost a year since this came out, and it’s the best lore video on KZbin, can you please make an updated version of it

[@ismingo4264]

Hmmmm… he hearted This comment, could it mean hes working on something?

[@infernophoenix4.]

@@ismingo4264 omg I hope so, I would actually love an updated version

[@gelatogremlin]

@@infernophoenix4. we have more lore??

[@ItsNish101]

Hey Hammeh. Just wanted to say thanks for all the content you've brought us over the years.

[@Hammeh]

Cheers Antonisha, thanks for supporting and watch and commenting all these years! Hope you're doing well and good as can be!

[@ItsNish101]

@@Hammeh I am! I played Overwatch 2 with some of my best friends who I met playing the first Overwatch (I haven't played in about 2 or 3 years). Felt like old times ❤️

[@Hammeh]

Awesome! Hope you're all enjoying!

[@patrickperring4203]

You have such a strong connection to why I love Overwatch. Hearing your voice just takes me back. Keep up the good work.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks Patrick! Both for coming back and checking this out. Hope the world's treating you and everyone well, and cheers, some more to come then we'll see!

[@BuffNesquikBunny]

I have already watched a lore catch up video and I have barely begun this video and already gave it a like. WE MISSED YOU HAMMEH!!

[@kostakatsoulis2922]

Personally I can't wait to see what antiques and challenges the Last Bastion will go through, seems to me like he's gonna have to face not just his ptsd but also probably some prejudice from his new teammates along the way. Good thing he'll have his emotional support bird and daddy Torbjorn to help him through it!

[@DanikaShoru]

Incredibly concise and citing your sources was much appreciated. Thank You for the thorough compilation.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks Armando, it definitely could have been longer! Hope it's a reasonable attempt to get everything in without reading every hero bio word for word etc :)

[@Furinalover2736]

I really thank you for this video as I am a new player in Overwatch 2. This video was enjoyable and informative. I quite appreciate you for covering this all.

[@roguechemist2529]

Perhaps a bleak comment, but; Moira. I just love Moira.

[@krounos1]

I never knew Brigitte and Mercy were technically sisters through adoption, there should be more specific interactions with that.

[@Hammeh]

Haha, well, she wasn't officially adopted as far as we know, but did spend a reasonable amount of time with the family! That would be very cool for interactions. Thanks for stopping by, and being subbed here 5 years Pepic! Hope you're as well and good as can be in these odd times!

[@krounos1]

@@Hammeh Definitely was a common stop for Overwatch content during the years. o/

[@Hammeh]

Good stuff :D

[@darkstar_57]

Fantastic work Hammeh, really helped put things in perspective and bring everything together!! I can't imagine how long this must have taken. Thank you so much!!

[@Hammeh]

Glad you enjoyed it - wanted to take the time, it was delayed release a bit so maybe a bit late, but enjoyed making it! You're more than welcome, thanks for taking the time to watch and support here :)

[@joshwhite83]

Absolutely amazing. You put so much time, love, and effort into this video and it shows. Thank you for this!

[@Hammeh]

Cheers Josh, very kind! I know it's not perfect but will be smoother in future. Thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@evileye462]

Really well put together, you're amazing dude keep it up!

[@austrianbeatboxchamp]

This video was the reason I came back. Very well put together, definitely best ow lore video out there! Thank you!

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for watching Leech and glad you enjoyed!

[@gracebee6600]

i really enjoyed the video, bro! thanks for putting it together

[@AnotherHaseyo]

Your video is a great quality content and deserves to be translated in every language ever and should be considered official. This is the best storytelling we have ever seen, and the most complete yet summarized video that exists here on youtube. It's just perfect to understand everything about Overwatch lore.

[@Hammeh]

That's really kind Levi, thanks so much for taking the time to watch and glad you enjoyed it! I'll see if I can work on some subtitle translations or commission some, a good idea :)

[@bigjalopy]

Absolutely banger video dude. This is the best video on the topic I've seen and I learnt a lot. I hope you make an updated video when more lore is released!

[@Hammeh]

Cheers Jaycob, very glad you enjoyed. Thanks to you and everyone for taking the time to watch! I'll update sometime in future, given this is updated to Kiriko, but many more topics can cover for now :)

[@armoka9470]

I'm so glad you made this, I really needed a refresher as I kinda lost track of some of the older lore trying to catch up on it all

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for being a sub 6 years armoka, and for coming back to check this out! Hope it was enjoyable, and you're keeping well! :)

[@armoka9470]

@@Hammeh that's very sweet thank you and of course! You're the go to guy for anything ow lore, I'll stick with this channel for as long as I play this game, I hope you're well too :)

[@Hammeh]

Too kind, appreciate that. Hope you're enjoying OW2!

[@nrem7611]

Bastion: made for peacekeeping Also Bastion: a hellspawn in the game that needed to be nerfed.

[@julianpumarejo8719]

I'v been looking for a video like this one to understand the lore ever since I started as a f2p in this ow2. Thanks for the content sir, I rly enjoyed it.

[@issy785]

thank you! been needing this, gonna treat this as a movie and binge

[@WonderBoyo11]

mannnn this was sooo good.. well done to you seriously that was a lot... honestly amazing work x

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for watching Rob and glad you enjoyed! :)

[@pprimeval11]

THANK. YOU. I've been searching a video like this for days

[@Hammeh]

Glad I could help MiKarma, do let me know what you think when you're done! Enjoy :)

[@rjgoodman4056]

This is easily the best lore and timeline video for Overwatch on youtube. I've really been loving McCree taking on a Nick Fury role and recruiting all the newer members of overwatch.

[@Hammeh]

Thanks a bunch RJ for watching and taking the time - glad you enjoyed it! Lots of takes over the years of course, I'd meant to do one since 2016...so glad got one done. Can always improve it in future :) Be fun to see Cassidy get the band together!

[@iro9697]

@@Hammeh 1:21:57

[@gangstalkerr]

Blizzard needs an animated series similar to League of Legend's Arcane. I hate league, and hate playing it, but Arcane is actually a pretty solid watch

[@gelatogremlin]

they desperately need a animated seriesv or something especially after they failed on their promise of PvE which was almost gurrantee'd to give us more info and lore. So to balance it out yeah a series would work. That or they just need to drop actual comics not just shorts comics like the christamas one. The story is too good for all that other stuff to be going on with overwatch and bilzzard.

[@thefallenC073]

Fun Fact: My addiction to lore started with learning about October 23rd 2077, now I know basically all of Halo lore, I’m working on Overwatch Lore, and I’m playing Cyberpunk… 2077 is something I can’t escape.

[@Hammeh]

Hahaha! Well go check out thr netrunner video on this channel, I love cyberpunk! If you'd like to see other lore on this channel I'm game, planned for ages..we will see :)

[@xlxDxlx]

I can't imagine how long this took your. Thank you, this was great.

[@Hammeh]

It was a long time but have wanted to make this vid for 6 years! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment, appreciated :)

[@averydiederich3257]

Very well done video, Thanks for summing this up for those of us that are getting back into the lore after taking a little break from the games!

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for watching Avery, appreciate you saying so and hope you enjoyed!

[@odstkchamp7719]

Ahh I needed to get to this sooner, I forgot just how interesting Overwatch Lore is. And also a return to the legendary lore man himself that got me interested in the game! A great video by the way! Can't wait for the PvE stuff and the more story driven things coming.

[@Hammeh]

Cheers for stopping by ODST, hope you're well and enjoying OW2 if you're playing! Appreciate you and all coming back to watch, much appreciated. It's been a while!

[@lalunafate]

Thanks for the hard work, this was fun to listen to as I start getting back in to OW again

[@Hammeh]

Awesome Luna, thanks for taking time to watch and hope you enjoyed :))

[@num6222]

This is such a good video! You’re work is greatly appreciated. I stopped playing comp just to listen and focus on this. 🤣

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for commenting and taking the time to watch Num! Hope it was worth the break from comp :D

[@DatStapleBoi]

Thank you very much for this, Ive been a bit confused with the timeline for Overwatch now that Overwatch 2 has come out and want to learn more about it before PVE releases

[@Hammeh]

No worries, glad you (or hope yo) enjoyed! :)

[@Komi_Komi_28]

Thankyou so much Hammeh this was explain everything Good Job! :D

[@RedRoninGM]

An amazing and stunning timeline video! Definitely astonishing! Thank you so much!!

[@Hammeh]

Cheers Red Ronin, appreciate you and everyone checking it out! Hope you're enjoying OW2!

[@sheikha3678]

Your way of storytelling is mesmerizing ❤

[@pixxie643]

I stopped playing Overwatch a while ago (for a few reasons), but I will never get tired of the lore of this game. I love it so much

[@vaidazx12]

Forgot to comment before the reupload. Glad to see you back Hammeh! I can't wait for PVE/story mode to be released even though it will probably take at least 6 months... Overwatch has such a cool world and art style, but pvp modes sometimes feel like torture to play.

[@Hammeh]

All good Wade, sorry for the two pings on this upload - I wanted to fix some weird sound and then Kiriko Animated short dropped. After all the time on it, better it was sorted :) Thanks for taking the time to stop by and say hello, genuinely appreciate you and everyone doing so. PVE will be earliest 2023 - I personally love PVP, but I get wanting PVE. I and you and many were looking forward to it for the longest time! I hope it's good after all this time - what I played at Blizzcon 2019 (Rio) was fun!

[@giodeluxe303]

I truly do wish I was able to experience Overwatch in all its glory and beauty when it first came out.

[@jenjoestar.]

Me too!!

[@WettSokks]

Thanks for this, you sound like an actual hooman, taking time to to resay stuff, and come with some funny comments here and there, and you've helped so many understand so much

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking time to watch Mikalliko! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@WettSokks]

Of course I had to watch, I must know *everything*! And it was capable of keeping my interest. I may have to watch it again because I was pretty tired and now I can't remember most...

[@vodiact]

Nice video mane, you deserve all the attention you're getting

[@oliviaplayspiano3108]

Great video! Very well put together and edited 🙌

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for watching olivia! Glad you enjoyed!

[@reilly5005]

I just want more lore for Lucio and Sigma

[@Hammeh]

Lucio's doing ok, with PVE he'll have a bit more! Sigma though, that'll be an interesting one. Imagine a Sigma short story!

[@crannnnnn7590]

I can't say 100%, but recent leaks showed Sigma showing up in a Talon meeting, I believe! If it's true, that means we might get some sigma lore!

[@pardoxia7242]

Thank you so much for this! I'm currently writing a crossover between Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 and I found myself overwhelmed by all the different information Overwatch has along with the time jumps and skips. This is much more comprehensible and really helps explain a lot of different characters and their origins.

[@C.est_moi_me]

You are amazing at explaining the lore extensively while not making us confused.

[@xfartgirlx]

you clearly put a lot of work into this video thank you so much! :)

[@Hammeh]

Cheers, thanks for giving it a go and sorry for the funny audio in places!

[@jordanlewis8270]

Oh my goodness this feels so nostalgic! I’m so excited!

[@Hammeh]

Haha, it has been a long time Jordan! Hope you're well, thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the vid!

[@Dr.Creation0]

Although the voice was really low and I had to turn on captions, this really made me understand the overwatch 2 lore. And I thank you for that

[@Hammeh]

Thanks so much for watching and glad you enjoyed!!

[@emtyvoid4324]

Loved the video! Very informative

[@Muteki_REN]

really getting back into this game on pc now with my friends and loving it. I've missed playing it and i'm super ready for the future

[@Hammeh]

That's great Majin! It's been an up and down launch/relaunch..genuinely having fun with 5v5 and crossing fingers for future:)

[@lionljb]

it's nice to look at the lore every once in a while, to see what's been added

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking the time to watch Lion! It is nice, good to step back and see that honestly a reasonable amount has been going on for the last year in particular!

[@Empyreanis]

Very detailed and excellent video! Keep it up!

[@Hammeh]

Thanks Empy for taking the time, appreciated😁

[@DauntlessBlade___]

THIS IS PERFECT THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!! You earned a sub

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking time ON, glad you enjoyed and appreciate you and everyone tuning in!

[@TallgeeseSturm]

Glad to see your channel is still alive, came back once overwatch 2 became relevant

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for stopping by again Ren! And taking the time to watch - appreciate you and everyone doing so. I'm not dead, just been resting a bit, sharing the odd video - odd few years in the world and life has been busy. Will get the vids I want on OW2 lore and similar done, then we'll see where we are :) Hope you're enjoying OW2!

[@re_nforce]

Great video, but u missed the part about Jetpack Cat

[@Hammeh]

One day...one day.

[@thesquirtlesquad8446]

Love this, thank you, the OW2 trailer of my boy Rein always brings a tear to my eye!

[@Hammeh]

Thanks for taking the time to watch squirtle. Blastoise for life!

[@scarlet_femme]

I’ve just understood that Winston got mad when his glasses were smashed bc they weren’t his, they were his researchers …

[@inky.blizzard]

Ive been playing overwatch on and off for awhile but never really tried getting into the lore until now and this was so helpful 😭❤️

[@Hammeh]

thanks Inky! really glad you enjoyed it! It's a couple years old now, so a lot to add in the next one when I do one...it's even more movie length now :D

[@grayclaw1391]

Wow that was very good recap of Overwatch Lore. Nice!!

[@Hammeh]

Glad you enjoyed it Grayclaw! Thanks you and everyone for taking the time to watch :) How are you finding OW2?

[@grayclaw1391]

@@Hammeh Bit and pieces at a time I will get information about Overwatch.

[@mobgabriel1767]

its good to mark here that junkrat has some ingame lines that indicate that he maybe got recruited by overwatch,the canonicity of those interactions are still not backed up by any source material at least for now

[@Hammeh]

Looking forward to getting all the new interactions together in one place!

[@premiumheadpats4150]

Glad to see Hammeh back. Over most of its lifespan, you have been like Necrit, but for Overwatch. At least, that's the way I've seen it.

[@Hammeh]

Too kind words indeed. Definitely will do some more OW2 content then see how we go. Lots of lore to discover and enjoy :)

[@Elijah_Elias]

Cassidy will always be tied with Rein for my favorite heroes in these games.

[@skarapeacetalon2800]

Thank you for this Hammeh! Makes theory crafting much easier :))

[@Hammeh]

YW Skara, thanks for stopping by again! :)

[@skarapeacetalon2800]

@@Hammeh np!

[@supersaiyandio1223]

Amazing video

[@cartervoltfire4933]

Hold on.... Is Sombra a Hardlight Wielder? Not like SYMMETRA but... She can teleport, and I don't believe she has 100 beacons in her pocket. Or has Hardlight just been Commercialized? That would explain why everyone has Infinite ammo I guess. That was the commercial! "Yes, It prints all Bullets! Simply configure your mag size and ammo type and watch those babies fly! Firing grenades? No problem! How about electricity? We got you covered! Condensed sound? With or without the 3-round burst package? Sign up now and get upgraded to 4-round burst for free!" Dva is kinda genius here. She set her mag size to 1 and shotgun so it reloads dummy fast, and bought 2 of em! Pro Gamer...

[@artsyafroqueen]

I really enjoyed this! Good job! You gotta do it again to include LifeWeaver and Illari lol

[@MBhatesYT]

The amount of time and work this must've taken! Fantastic job!

[@Hammeh]

It was a chunk but I enjoyed, and if people enjoy, that's main thing :) Thanks for being around here 4 years (according to your sub icon) MBhates! Enjoying OW2?

[@MBhatesYT]

@@Hammeh absolutely, despite of the kinda rocky launch! You?