Overwatch 2 players slam devs over Kiriko age reveal that “makes no sense”

Nathan Warby
Kiriko in Overwatch 2

Aside from being a hugely popular hero shooter, Overwatch 2 features deep lore that gives all of its characters unique histories. However, an addition to Support Hero Kiriko’s backstory has left many players confused.

With the Invasion update, Blizzard have taken the opportunity to flesh out the world of Overwatch 2 even further. Season 6 added a fresh set of PvE missions that offer long-awaited story content, as well as a brand-new Hero in Illari.

One of the reasons that Overwatch has become so popular is the deep lore surrounding the game. Each character has their own backstory that explains their abilities and personalities, including specific ages.

However, the recent reveal of Kiriko’s age in Overwatch 2 has caused fans to question the devs.

An update to the Overwatch 2 website revealed that Kiriko, the Support Hero released alongside the sequel back in October, is actually only 21 years old. But many fans this contradicts her backstory where Kiriko trained alongside Hanzo and Genji, as revealed in her Origin Story trailer.

Following this change, Reddit user ‘provafieroh’ argued that “Kiriko’s age makes no sense” based on the ages of the two DPS Heroes.

“They can’t even design a character based on a lore that they have created,” said the post. “They are 16 years (19 with Hanzo) apart? Basically Genji in his [twenties] hanged out with an infant? Also they clearly look like teens in her origin story video and also their height doesn’t match.”

Another Reddit user named ‘Kuria9105’ shared a screenshot from her Origin Stroy trailer that featured the three characters. Based on the information now known, it appears that Kiriko would be just five-years-old in this portrait, while Genji and Hanzo would be 21 and 35 respectively.

Plenty of other players responded, explaining how frustrated they were with the lack of consistency in the character’s backstories.

“I’m very disappointed with the lore department right now. It’s like they don’t even do their research at all before slapping in a random number,” said one fan, before another added: “Seeing all of this lore they’ve established be overturned as well as ruined or dismissed in some cases is frustrating.”

Only time will tell if Blizzard will choose to tweak Kirikio’s age or lore in the future as a result of the backlash. With Overwatch 2 Season 7 coming soon, and more PvE missions in the pipeline, there will be plenty of opportunities to make some changes.

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].