Overwatch Archives 2021 Gets Historical Cosmetic Skins

Overwatch's Archives 2021 event begins today, and Blizzard has been teasing new cosmetic skins coming in the update. While Archives events often focus on retro looks for the roster of playable heroes, this time they're extremely retro. Think 200 or so years ago at least.

So far three skins have been revealed, though more may be included as part of the event. Those revealed so far are Soldier 1776, a look inspired by the patriots in the American Revolution; Mousquetaire Widowmaker, inspired by the French musketeer soldiers; and Bushi Genji, modeled after Japanese samurai. You can see the skins below.

Overwatch Archives events are known for their PvE story maps, which so far have included Uprising, Retribution, and Storm Rising. Those are likely to return, but Blizzard hasn't detailed further story maps included in this year's event.

Blizzard has seemed to shift most of its Overwatch development resources to Overwatch 2, which does not yet have a set release date. Overwatch is still getting regular event updates along with some quality-of-life features like a recent Xbox Series X|S upgrade. For more on Overwatch and its sequel, along with Jeff Kaplan's magnificent COVID beard, check out our in-depth interview with Kaplan.