Overwatch 2 dev explains how new voice lines will make heroes feel “alive”
An Overwatch 2 developer opened up about how the sequel’s increased “reactivity” regarding voice lines will change moment-to-moment gameplay.
With Overwatch 2’s release date not too far off, more key details about the FPS have been coming out – includingnew heroes like Junker Queenand the completeremoval of loot boxes.
The highly-anticipated Blizzard title is also getting a massive rework to voice lines, and a lead developer shared all the new details ahead of itsOctober 4 launch date.
Overwatch 2 gets new reactive voice lines
Senior Narrative Designer Justin Groot shined a light on what to expect from OW2 ‘s “specific voice lines that respond to very specific gameplay events.”
The goal with these voice lines is to “reward players for their coolest accomplishments with special voiceovers.”
Groot claimed the team wanted to take things a step further beyond the original Overwatch’s interaction between heroes mid-match.
THREAD TIME BUCKLE UPOne thing that’s NEW about narrative design in Overwatch 2 is greatly increased “reactivity”–aka, very specific voice lines that respond to very specific gameplay events.
The goal? Reward players for their coolest accomplishments with special VO!
— Justin Groot (@JustinGroot3)June 21, 2025
These voice lines will trigger only in rare gameplay situations.
Hanzo’s new reactive VO has already been teased and is the only one the OW2 team has shown off so far. In the voice-over, Hanzo begins different voice lines once enemies around him are killed.
I can’t stress enough just how much I love the extra dialogues with a sonic arrow elim(There’s 3 of them)pic.twitter.com/TF0L1cH7zN
— 🏹 Hanzo Shimada Appreciation Station 🍰🏹 (@mysteryproff)July 09, 2025
The Overwatch 2 devs have made a point to say that the sequel is muchmore than just an update.
With little touches like this, the Overwatch community will certainly appreciate anything that makes the hero shooter feel more like a sequel and less like a big patch.
