With Sojourn's gameplay trailer just releasing to positive fanfare, there have been many questions as to why this rather simple character took so long to see release. Furthermore, many fans have asked why the first Black female character is launching in the sequel, not in the main game.
Fortunately, Blizzard has expanded on its reasoning behind this decision .
The question surrounding Sojourn is, "Why wasn't she playable beforehand?" Former Game Director Jeff Kaplan responded to this question in 2019, claiming her slow rollout was done to avoid pandering. He explained that Blizzard wanted the character to have an actual impact on the storyline of the game, rather than just check a diversity box.
Developers addressed the question again in a recent interview with The Verge.
"We created this timeline, and we wanted Sojourn â especially since she's the first Black female character of the game â to not just be a random addition to the game," said Overwatch 2 Art Director Dion Rogers.
This makes sense, especially considering Sojourn's lore up to this point painted her as one of the main leaders in Overwatch, to the point of her being on par with Jack Morrison in terms of control over the missions.
With Overwatch 2's beta releasing soon, many fans are excited to get their hands on this new character to really see what she can do. Bu it will be a while longer in order to see if her role in the story is as prominent as Blizzard claims she is.
For more on Sojourn, check out our breakdown of her abilities.