Junker Queen

Simply called "The Queen" by the development staff, the character was first introduced as a backstory character for Overwatch's "Junkertown" setting as part of a 2017 update. She is also included as an atmospheric element for an in-game map of the same name, as her voice voice lines can be heard over a PA system on the map and she is seen on various posters that decorate it.[4][5] In April 2019, as part of a livestream at Blizzard headquarters with various streamers, game director Jeff Kaplan revealed that assistant art director Arnold Tsang had drawn several pieces of concept art for the character and that they had "big plans" for her, though with a longer time frame in mind compared to other characters.[1] When designing her playable character and gameplay, they used her existing lore as a basis, aiming to portray her with "tough, almost brutal, personality" while also wanting to avoid anything that may seem magical or elegant. They were also aware of their player community's perception of the character, and aimed to keep her in line with those expectations.[6]

Junker Queen was originally voiced by Siho Ellsmore in Overwatch, who provided a voice over for the Junkertown map reveal trailer and voice lines for the map.[2] With Overwatch 2, Leah de Niese took over the role. de Niese, who had previously not voiced a video game character, noted that she was originally unaware what character or even game she was auditioning for, other than it was a "fierce, rough-as-guts Aussie" which she enjoyed because it allowed her to use her natural accent, and leaned into the character's "wild nature". After getting the role, she noted there was very little material to establish her voice for Junker Queen outside of storyboards for an in-production animated short, and researched the fandom to get a better idea of the character and audience expectations of her portrayal.[7]

Her backstory is elaborated on in the animated short The Wastelander, revealing that she was banished from Junkertown as a child along with her family. Trained as a warrior to survive the wasteland, she returned to Junkertown thirteen years later to participate in "the Reckoning", a free-for-all combat to challenge the current ruler of Junkertown. The "free-for-all" turns out to be rigged, as the other two combatants are working for the ruler, though she is able to turn them against him after showing concern for their lives. With the ruler defeated, he pleads for mercy, and she elects to banish him in the same manner he had her family. Taking power as the Junker Queen, she opts to rule in a more kind manner, helping the encampment thrive while still overseeing the fights.[14][3]

To promote Overwatch 2, Blizzard showcased her as a new character at the 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase available upon release of the title later that year.[18] In 2023, a large, 16 inch tall statue was released on Blizzard's online store to further promote the character, made out of a mixture of PVC and polyresin.[19]

Despite only being a background character in the original Overwatch, fans took a heavy liking to Junker Queen due to the Junkertown map reveal trailer's voiceover, and then moreso when the map became playable on the game's public test server.[4] Other journalists such as Gita Jackson of Kotaku and Chris Moyse of Destructoid further noted the fan reaction, with Moyse noting players heavily requesting the "Legion of Doom-esque lovely, all spiked armour and Mad Max-haircut" be added as a playable character, with a large amount of fan art and cosplay following suit.[20][21] Jeff Kaplan in turn referenced people's requests for a player version of the queen prior to the character's actual unveiling, such as on his 2019 "Overwatch Yule Log" stream, in which he mused what character class she would be.[5][22]

The character's full release was also met with positive reception. Jess Reyes of Inverse praised the design differences between her and fellow character Zarya despite both being "buff ladies" as examples of body diversity other games could follow.[23] While TechRadar's Cat Bussell was critical of Blizzard's female character design in Overwatch, she praised Junker Queen as an example of one of the characters that "do reasonable and expressive outfits – the kind of outfits that empower rather than objectify."[24] In another article for the site, Elie Gould voiced her approval of Junker Queen's design as what she wanted to see more of in contrast to how similar many of the female characters appeared. She added that it "captures everything you would hope for in a character from the Mad Max-esque location that is Australia in the Overwatch universe," and further praised the distinct "towering frame and wild face" providing visual variance to the character that Gould felt only male characters were typically afforded.[25]

On the other hand, Mathew Rodriguez of Kotaku cited her as example of Blizzard's shortcomings when it came to body diversity, noting that while she was portrayed as a larger woman and a brawler, she had the usual slender waist for female characters in the game and unlike the male characters, lacked visible scars.[26] Player's meanwhile complained that the character's appearance did not match the standard appearance the game normally attributed to its "tank" class characters and felt she should be proportionately wider, with complaints of her being "too thin" being common as noted by NME and GamesRadar+. In addition other players complained her silhouette was too similar to that of other characters, causing them to routinely become confused in the heat of combat during gameplay.[27][28]