Tracer

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Lore & Background

Tracer's real name is Lena Oxton, and she is a character from Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch franchise. Her first appearance overall was in the 2014 Overwatch Cinematic Trailer short. In the game's narrative, she is a peppy and energetic pilot of British origin. Her abilities—teleportation and time travel—were caused by an accident that left her unable to maintain a physical form in the present. This accident occurred during a test flight of the Slipstream, a prototype teleporting fighter, when the teleportation matrix malfunctioned. She was pronounced dead but later reappeared, desynchronized from time. Her friend and fellow Overwatch agent, Winston, invented the "chronal accelerator", a device that allows her to control her own time frame. In Overwatch lore, she is an adventurer and former agent of the international task force, Overwatch. After Overwatch was forcibly dissolved, her biography notes that she continues "to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presents itself."

In Their Own Story

The air in King's Row smelled of ozone and rain as Lena materialized from a blur of blue light. She didn't land so much as settle into existence, her boots touching the pavement just before the enemy turret could lock on. A quick blink sent her behind cover, then another leap placed her atop the enemy structure. To the soldiers below, she was a ghost; to herself, it was simply Tuesday. With a grin that never quite faded, she tapped her wrist device and whispered, 'Cheers, love,' before vanishing again, leaving only the echo of her laughter in the wake of her departure.

Reader's Guide

As a damage-class hero in Overwatch, Tracer has low health but is highly mobile, being able to both teleport and time travel. Her three abilities—Blink, Recall, and Pulse Bomb—were maintained throughout the game's development, and she originated as a 'whole' hero. Her gameplay style is described as quick and squishy, designed more to harry the opposing team from behind than to survive a frontal assault. She has a wild running animation and a unique trail of blue light extending behind her. Her jump animation is hyper-exaggerated and kinda goofy looking, a result of smear frame and squash and stretch animation techniques. In Overwatch 2, her design retained her trademark orange pants and goggles, albeit visually tweaked. Tracer was the first hero designed for the game and was used to test basic gameplay. The first Overwatch playtest featured only Tracer in a gray, blocky level, where she shot laser beams out of her eyes because there were no visual effects or attachment points on her guns.

Did You Know?

• Tracer's first appearance overall was in the 2014 Overwatch Cinematic Trailer short, not in a video game.
• Her first inclusion in a video game was in the Overwatch beta starting October 2015, not in Heroes of the Storm (April 2016).
• Tracer's design originated from a male 'Jumper' class in Blizzard's canceled project, Titan.
• The claim that Tracer shot laser beams from her eyes in the first Overwatch playtest is a myth not confirmed by official Blizzard sources.
• Tracer was revealed to be a lesbian in the December 2016 digital comic 'Reflections', making her the first canonically LGBTQ hero in Overwatch.

Origins and Developmental Evolution

Tracer was one of the first twelve Overwatch characters introduced at BlizzCon in 2014. Her design is based upon an element from Blizzard's canceled project, Titan. Overwatch's game director Jeff Kaplan said Titan included a class of character called "Jumper", which developed into Tracer because Overwatch focuses on creating individual characters instead of generic classes. The Jumper class was depicted as male in most of the concept artwork and its player version. Like Tracer in Overwatch, the Jumper was equipped with the Blink and Recall abilities, as well as a Pulse bomb and dual-wielding machine pistols. The design of Tracer's pistols were influenced by the G18 pistols featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Tracer's design was influenced by Geoff Goodman, the lead hero designer for Overwatch. Tracer was the first hero designed for the game and was used to test the basic gameplay. Kaplan recounted the first Overwatch playtest, stating, "The entire level was gray and blocky and the only hero was Tracer. We had no visual effects or attachment points on her guns so she just shot laser beams out of her eyes." Overwatch's assistant game director Aaron Keller said Temple of Anubis was the first map developed for the game, and that the map and Tracer were worked on concurrently. Keller said, "One day we got both of them in, and just with Tracer running around an unfinished map it was fun." Keller also noted that, unlike other characters, Tracer's three abilities were maintained throughout the game's development, noting, "from the beginning, she originated as a 'whole' hero." However, her health pool was nerfed during the game's late closed beta stages. Lead artist Arnold Tsang said the character's body size and running pose were considered during character design to make each hero easily identifiable. Tracer has a wild running animation and a unique trail of blue light extending behind her. Nathan Grayson of Kotaku said her jump animation appears "hyper-exaggerated and kinda goofy looking", a result of the smear frame and squash and stretch animation techniques used in Overwatch. Blizzard senior animator David Gibson pointed out frames from her jump animation: "We're trying to just push it a little further than normal. Something as simple as stretching the torso out, having her hang [in the air] just a little bit longer than normal. Really squashing her when she lands."

In-Game Narrative and Abilities

In the Overwatch narrative, Tracer is a peppy and energetic pilot of British origin. A damage-class hero in-game, Tracer has low health, but is highly mobile, being able to both teleport and time travel. Those abilities were caused by an accident that left her unable to maintain a physical form in the present until her friend and fellow Overwatch agent, Winston, invented the "chronal accelerator", a device that allows her to control her own time frame. In Overwatch lore, Tracer is known for her piloting skills; after being a member of the British Royal Air Force, she became the youngest person ever inducted into Overwatch's experimental flight program. She was chosen to test the Slipstream, a prototype of a teleporting fighter; during the test flight, the Slipstream's teleportation matrix malfunctioned and Tracer was pronounced dead. She later reappeared, having been desynchronized from the flow of time, preventing her from keeping a physical form in the present until Winston created the chronal accelerator. These events occur during a period in which the Overwatch organization was increasingly protested and criticized by the public. Though in the franchise's narrative Overwatch was forcibly dissolved, Tracer's biography notes that she continues "to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presents itself."

Cultural Impact and Community Controversy

Prominently featured in the franchise's official media and serving as the first game's cover girl, Tracer is one of the most recognizable Overwatch characters and one of the more commonly featured in its fan art. Tracer has attracted media coverage related to online controversies surrounding one of her in-game victory poses, as well as her prominence in fan-produced pornography, which Blizzard has tried to remove. In March 2016, a controversy arose about Tracer's "Over the Shoulder" victory pose after a user on the game's forums said it was out of character and "reduces Tracer to just another bland female sex symbol." The post generated a discussion on the forums, which gaming outlets noted for its civility. Kaplan posted an apologetic response in which he announced Blizzard's plans to replace the pose because they did not want to "make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented." The decision was met with mixed reactions from the gaming community. Some argued that Blizzard had surrendered its creative control over the game, censoring content to appease an offended user, while others praised Blizzard's willingness to listen to the community. Kaplan later said the game's development team was not "entirely happy with the original pose" and that internal creative struggles over its inclusion had occurred. The following week, a replacement pose was released; one commentator said this was "different, butt [sic] not by much", referring to the prominent buttocks of the original pose. According to Jessica Lachenal of The Mary Sue website, the replacement pose was inspired by a cheesecake pin-up illustration by Billy De Vorss. Kaplan called the replacement pose cool, cute, and playful, and said he wished the team had chosen it originally.

Representation and Legacy

The character has appeared in Overwatch animated media and a digital comic series based on the game. In her comic debut, she is revealed to be a lesbian, a depiction that was positively received by media outlets and players. Tracer became the first Overwatch hero to be canonically revealed as LGBTQ in Reflections, a December 2016 issue of the Overwatch digital comic. She is depicted in the comic as a partner in a romantic relationship with a woman named Emily, who is not part of the Overwatch team. Blizzard noted the importance of variety in character background, which helps deepen and enrich the game's broader fictional universe. Blizzard stated about Tracer's development, "As with any aspect of our characters' backgrounds, their sexuality is just one part of what makes..." (the quote is cut off in the source). Tracer was added to the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm in an April 2016 update, marking her first inclusion in a video game. Shortly thereafter, she appeared in the first Overwatch game, a first-person hero shooter. She again appeared in its 2023 sequel, Overwatch 2. The developers of Overwatch later introduced seasonal events, including themed cosmetics such as skins and sprays for players to equip the character with. Tracer received two skins during the game's first seasonal event, "Summer Games 2016", which was themed after the 2016 Summer Olympics. In the game's first year of release, she received themed skins during the game's subsequent "Winter Wonderland", "Year of the Rooster 2017", "Uprising", and "Anniversary" events.