Overwatch's Anran redesign fixes her controversial 'baby face' in Season 2: 'This process has really helped dial in the next set of heroes'

1 week ago 8

Anran standing in a powerful pose with her arms outstretched holding her flaming fans.

Following the reveal of Anran's in-game model in Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1, there were calls from both fans and her voice actress for her model to be redesigned. Simply put, she looked too young and inexperienced compared to her brother Wuyang and her early appearance in his comic. The Overwatch team responded by promising an updated look for Anran, which was planned to arrive later in the season.

It's a bit behind schedule (Mizuki got a surprise jawline buff first), but Blizzard has shared Anran's new look which will arrive when Season 2 launches on Tuesday, April 14. The post reiterates that Anran "didn’t fully land as the fiery and fierce sister of Wuyang that [the team] hoped she would," and shares a video by game director Aaron Keller explaining the changes.

In Season 2, we’re introducing an updated look for Anran. She didn’t fully land as the fiery and fierce sister of Wuyang that we hoped she would. With this update, our team focused on strengthening her overall presence. This evolution reflects both our creative intent and the… pic.twitter.com/1AwaVDuzdoApril 6, 2026

"We think she could come across older," Keller says, "and that her original version was too innocent and playful." To address this, Blizzard has tweaked her eyes, eyebrows, and mouth to "move away from that baby face look and expression." One of the most impactful changes is actually in her posture, coming across much more confident than before.

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A side-by-side comparison of Anran's old and new visuals, with annotations noting key changes.

This change has largely been well-received so far, addressing the many concerns players had with Anran's original model. In fact, Anran's voice actress, Fareeha Andersen, followed up the post saying "So grateful for this update…Thank you Team 4 and the Overwatch community." However, there are still a few players annoyed that she doesn't look quite like her first comic appearance, though I'd chalk that partly down to art style differences.

Keller closes by explaining that this process of redesigning a character to better match their personality has "really helped the team dial in" the next heroes on the way—there are still five more heroes coming this year. So there are potentially some tweaks going on behind the scenes to unrevealed characters as a result.

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Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

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