Like most of Overwatch’s Lunar New Year skins, Mei’s outfits for the Year of the Rooster are great. They caused a slight stir earlier today, though, when people who had previously believed (and loved) Mei for being a little thicker than your average video game woman noticed she was now looking a bit slimmer.
Mei’s CNY skin on the left, with her regular outfit on the right.
For some people, this is important! Fans love Overwatch, partly because the game’s diverse roster has been an inspiration to people of all outlooks, shapes and sizes. And Mei’s thing, apart from being a monster, is that she has what by video game standards you’d call a sturdy build, and which in the real world you would call a “healthy woman’s body”.
So for Blizzard to seemingly change this would upset people who identified with the character because of this!
For everyone else, whatever. We’re never going to get it in a loot box anyway. What’s interesting here for everyone, though, is the fact that Blizzard has come out and said that Mei’s waist is indeed slimmer, but that the change isn’t the result of a creative decision, but a bug with the skin’s code.
Which sounds faintly ridiculous, almost like the kind of thing a company would say when it’s hastily backing down from something in the face of unhappy users. Until you consider that, hey, maybe it was actually a bug.
Image: @psychlocke
Her waist does indeed look whack.
Blizzard say it will be fixed with an upcoming patch.
Comments
23 responses to “New Overwatch Skins Accidentally Made Mei Look Thinner”
LOL
There was a part of me that thought an article like this wouldn’t pop up.
Welcome to Kotaku.
Mei was never fat. You can see it in her concept art AND her olympics sprays. There is nothing wrong with the new skin.
Precisely. It’s all in the clothing. “Bug” my arse.
I haven’t had time to get in game yet but it does look like her waist is a little too thin in those pics which could very likely be a bug, hell WoW has those sort of issues all the time but at least in this case it’s more likely to get a fix. Just look at the top pic – The gold hanging part on the right (like a chain hanging off her belt) looks like it should connect under the belt like the red sash but instead hangs on top.
Other than that it seems fine to me though, obviously she looks a bit thinner than usual, she’s not in big wooly clothes.
If you actually see it in-game, it’s very obviously a glitch.
Her waist to hip ratio doesn’t look any more ridiculous than Kim Kardashian’s. Wait…
Hahaha yes came on her to say that you beat me to it.
She’s the same shape as volunteer firefighters in her structural gear anyway
Are they really body shaming in 2017?
In my mind I called a Kotaku article on it.
CALLED IT!
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/01/overwatchs-lunar-new-year-event-is-now-live-heres-whats-in-it/#comment-3771974
beeronious @beeronious
Jan 25, 2017, 9:49am
You sure did. nicely done. Maybe they should hire you.
She also still looks chunky in the pic. But its low res so its tricky to tell what its like in game.
I thought we reached peak outrage in 2016, seems I overestimated humanities collective ability to grow up and progress past an adolescent stage of development.
Man this game really is all about asses isn’t it?
Hometown
It’s high moon
The only “bug” is in people’s headcanon of the character. Just like “everyone in Overwatch is gay” or all the “official ships” people create, people just assumed that Mei was of a larger size when it’s really more about her bulky winter coat that gives her the look.
Thank you for using common sense!! Was about to post the same thing. I looked twice as big when wearing my old freezer work gear.
I count myself as one who found her sudden trim figure disappointing.
Nothing to see here folks. Only sensitive babies looking for something to get offended by. “…the game’s diverse roster has been an inspiration to people of all outlooks, shapes and sizes”. Right, just like all us males are inspired by Roadhog and Reinhardt’s “real world” physiques. The real explanation to all this is that her thickly layered eskimo clothing is now replaced with more formal, less bulky attire. No need to get triggered.
You’ve trigged a bunch of SJWs mate. LOL
But
She was wearing a huge thick parka of course she’ll look bigger…. Lol I look bigger too in a huge ass jacket