Wow! That's some serious mech action next year... love it!

Given how scummy Activision/Blizzard’s been revealed to be under the surface over the last few months, uhhhhh, maybe leaving these on the cutting room floor would’ve been for the best eh chums

Oh man, this is definitely going to give Lego some bad press. Especially the huge glaring Blizzard logo on the bottom right of the box.

Game sucks, anyway

I'm out of the loop, what's wrong with Blizzard?

@MisterBrickster said:
"I'm out of the loop, what's wrong with Blizzard?"

Everything. There's a lot of stuff.

from kotaku: "The ongoing lawsuit against Activision Blizzard has made public some truly terrible and horrendous behavior that occurred across multiple studios and offices. Many women were allegedly sexually harassed, assaulted, and psychologically traumatized while the folks in power at the companies involved seemingly did little to stop or limit this behavior."

I thought they might have been waiting for Overwatch 2. It was a weird move of them to announce it so damn early with no news for years. It really killed the game for a lot of people, since no new content was to come out, and a long-promised PvE mode was pushed back with it.

Eager to see if they do more sets, but with the drama around Blizzard, it's a bad timing.

Not to mention that Activision Blizzard continue to lay off their staff and stop their unionization efforts despite their games making millions of dollars from their labour. At the same time their already overpaid CEO Bobby Kotick keeps getting fat cheques from the board which also refuses to remove him, despite Kotick being heavily complicit in the abuses, with him on record threatening staff over the phone. The situation got so bad that they got sued by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Great set, terrible company. Blizzard is Going to crap now and Whilst I’m happy overwatch is back, it was one of my favourite lines, I’m honestly not sure if this set will release. We may have a technic Osprey situation on our hands.

Absolutely appalling. A partnership with actibliz was questionable enough the first time. After everything that's happened since, such a partnership is entirely unconscionable. I hope Lego will reconsider partnering with a company that shameless enables mass sexual harassment of its employees.

Blizzard had to change a character's name to Cassidy because he was named after Jesse McCree, a game designer who was fired for inappropriate behavior in the Cosby Suite scandal. This was only one of the stories of abuse from high ranking employees.
Most recently it's been revealed that CEO Bobby Kotick knew about some of the instances of abuse and protected the abusers. A group of employees under the ABetterABK handle are fighting to get him removed as CEO.

IF TLG do produce this, the price and the box size seem over inflated.

That is the real scandal here....

Actibliz scandal is a separate story.

While I wouldn’t trust the gaming press to accurately report the color of the sky, what’s been put on public record at Activision-Blizzard is not only appalling, but illegal. People have to go to jail over this.

The gaming public is already so ignorant of basic laws that they think half of what Activision has done is actually legal, just scummy or unethical.

But it’s not. It’s illegal. Kotick has allowed illegal activity to persist for years at Activision, perhaps decades.

LEGO would do well to release a statement before they get roped into this mess as some kind of complicit third party.

... so how long before this mecha gets recalled and cancelled for quality control issues?

I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited

@mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about.

@Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itsself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?

* Wild that LEGO is continuing to do sets based on T-rated, first-person shooter video games when their designers said in an interview on this very website that they wouldn’t do Fallen Order sets because of the age rating, because they primarily “make toys for children.” Or that with video games you have the potential for future and unpredictable violence in sequels…which Overwatch has a sequel in the works!

Regardless of what the comments are saying about Blizzard, this needs to be addressed too.

And that interview is the designer interview regarding the Razor Crest and Fallen Order.

Frankly the kinds of criticisms normally levelled at TLG dont even begin to compare to this. This isnt some quality issue or overpriced set, Lego are now endorsing a company that systematically enables and encourages the sexual assault of its employees. I am absolutely furious that anyone at Lego would ever think this is acceptable. To say ABK doesnt line up with Lego's company values would be a hilarious understatement if the reality of the situation werent so abhorrent.

If the vague and debatable military connotations of the Osprey warrant cancellation for not lining up with Lego's company values, what does it say if they dont cancel a partnership with serial abusers on similar grounds?

@Bricky_Dee_Williams said:
"* Wild that LEGO is continuing to do sets based on T-rated, first-person shooter video games when their designers said in an interview on this very website that they wouldn’t do Fallen Order sets because of the age rating, because they primarily “make toys for children.” Or that with video games you have the potential for future and unpredictable violence in sequels…which Overwatch has a sequel in the works!

Regardless of what the comments are saying about Blizzard, this needs to be addressed too.

And that interview is the designer interview regarding the Razor Crest and Fallen Order. "

Huh, I thought Fallen Order was rated M, but it is just rated T. Pretty wild they won't make sets off of it then. Lego in general has been horribly inconsistent in what they allow lately.

Am I there only one that thinks this looks like it was built by a child and not quite finished?

When you buy something, you are voting with those dollars. Condoning the practices behind it.

@darthsutius said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?
"

The set doesn’t assault people, it just makes money for people who assault people. Activision Blizzard receives a sum of money to allow for the production and sale of these sets, so purchasing them is directly contributing to the company, indirectly supporting them. It’s not “political,” it’s not “snowflakes” being upset by nothing. While I don’t doubt that there are good individuals working at Blizzard, the collective whole enables illegal and immoral behavior. It’s not as if some low-ranking employees committed some unconnected crimes- high-ranking employees did these things, with the knowledge of company executives. You can’t fix that by just firing a few guys and updating your HR policy, and it’s certainly justifiable to stop purchasing the company’s products for that reason.

@darthsutius said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?
"

Overwatch may still be interesting, and the employees may generally be good people, but the same goes for Boeing, and the people who developed the Osprey. In that case, the argument for cancelling the set was that money would flow back to a company that supplies military equipment.
The same reasoning here imho. Money for the Overwatch license goes to Blizzard, and most of that will go to the CEO and staff.

@Grifter said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"I'm out of the loop, what's wrong with Blizzard?"

Everything. There's a lot of stuff.

from kotaku: "The ongoing lawsuit against Activision Blizzard has made public some truly terrible and horrendous behavior that occurred across multiple studios and offices. Many women were allegedly sexually harassed, assaulted, and psychologically traumatized while the folks in power at the companies involved seemingly did little to stop or limit this behavior."

"

Another Ubisoft. None of them can get away with this. I don't see a good enough reason for Lego to be releasing this set now.

@Wrecknbuild said:
" @darthsutius said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?
"

Overwatch may still be interesting, and the employees may generally be good people, but the same goes for Boeing, and the people who developed the Osprey. In that case, the argument for cancelling the set was that money would flow back to a company that supplies military equipment.
The same reasoning here imho. Money for the Overwatch license goes to Blizzard, and most of that will go to the CEO and staff."

And yet LEGO is still making Disney and HP sets, and selling their products through Amazon...

I, for one, am excited to purchase this set as I have loved all of the previous Overwatch sets, you can’t go wrong with a big mech.

While Blizzard hasn't been the best company in the recent years, many people left, I can't really blame LEGO for this, there probably was a long-standing contract already and OW2 has been delayed and delayed.

And while I don't play Blizzard games right now, the Warcraft universe is still something I'd love as a LEGO theme as it has so many possibilities.

However, I'm not a Blizzard Fanboi , just a former big fan of their super high quality games from the past, a lot already changed since Warcraft 3 reforged, Diablo Immortal, Poor WoW expansions/management etc put a dent in the company reputation long before the lawsuits, so if this will get canceled I won't worry about it at all.

LEGO: Remember, no pitches from sets based on first person shooter are allowed on Ideas!

Also LEGO: *proceeds to release a set for an FPS game that might not even be out for a while while the company that makes Overwatch is under heavy fire from darn near everyone because they treat their employees worse than animals*

@MainBricker said:
"I quite like the Overwatch theme and glad to see that it's continuing.

Disappointing to see a lot of virtue signalling going on here, because whilst what has happened at Activision is bad, I would hazard a guess that most of the people kicking off have probably got the game on pre-order and will buy these sets, even though they're claiming on social media to be outraged.

People are very happy to buy and support the Monkie Kid sets even though China has an issue with human rights (amongst other things).

Why is the default position on social media an any announcement to be "how can I can outraged over this?".

I will judge this theme purely on the product it is based off of (a FPS game) rather than the dreadful behaviour of staff at a sister company.
"

How do you know it's virtue signalling? Unless you've got a record of people's purchasing habits, you can't really dismiss their complaints as disingenuous. Moreover, supporting Monkie Kid sets isn't quite the same situation; it's not like we're funnelling money directly to the Chinese government. Boycotting Monkie Kid on the basis it's Chinese-inspired means we're edging dangerously close to racist and xenophobic territory, regardless of what China's government has done.

Plus, none of that changes the fact we can't divorce Overwatch merchandise from the prosperity of the IP's creators. Deciding that there's some clear dividing line between Overwatch and the objectionable behaviour of the company that made it is simply childish.

@MainBricker said:
"I quite like the Overwatch theme and glad to see that it's continuing.

Disappointing to see a lot of virtue signalling going on here, because whilst what has happened at Activision is bad, I would hazard a guess that most of the people kicking off have probably got the game on pre-order and will buy these sets, even though they're claiming on social media to be outraged.

People are very happy to buy and support the Monkie Kid sets even though China has an issue with human rights (amongst other things).

Why is the default position on social media an any announcement to be "how can I can outraged over this?".

I will judge this theme purely on the product it is based off of (a FPS game) rather than the dreadful behaviour of staff at a sister company.
"

1.) I do not have the game for pre-order, and I was extremely excited for the first wave of OW sets. Heck, I got very set, which I usually never do for a theme because I rarely have the spare cash for that. I have zero interest in OW 2 right now ever since Blizzard’s (and especially Activision’s) monstrous behaviors have come to light. I can’t speak for everyone else, but not even people who liked Overwatch are all that hyped for 2. Doesn’t help the game doesn’t even have a director or anything revealed beyond the first trailer.

2.) While I don’t like how much butt-kissing LEGO did for China in the press releases for Monkie Kid, I think people view the theme more based around the Journey to the West myth than modern-day Chinese politics.

3.) I can’t separate Overwatch from the current troubles Activision Blizzard is going through. I’m sorry, but I’m not comfortable giving that company my money until substantial improvements are made. LEGO is asking us to pay $60+ for a toy based on this franchise, and I’m not exactly comfortable giving them that money either with how tone-deaf this comes across as. Also, it’s outright hypocritical of LEGO to keep making FPS sets while not allowing Ideas to make FPS projects.

Kinda hard to rebuild the world when you ally yourself with the scum of the earth.

I'm surprised this line wasn't cancelled entirely, based on everything that's happened over the last few years. Hoping that it's just a contractual obligation instead of TLG willingly associating with a company that thinks treating people the way they were by Activision isn't a crime. And also, you can't "separate" buying merch of a despicable corporation from said despicable acts. What a foolish and uncritical way of looking at the world.

Y'all.

These are TOYS.

If guilt by association were a death rattle Lego would’ve died years ago

@TeriXeri said:
"While Blizzard hasn't been the best company in the recent years, many people left, I can't really blame LEGO for this, there probably was a long-standing contract already and OW2 has been delayed and delayed.

And while I don't play Blizzard games right now, the Warcraft universe is still something I'd love as a LEGO theme as it has so many possibilities.

However, I'm not a Blizzard Fanboi , just a former big fan of their super high quality games from the past, a lot already changed since Warcraft 3 reforged, Diablo Immortal, Poor WoW expansions/management etc put a dent in the company reputation long before the lawsuits, so if this will get canceled I won't worry about it at all."

I grew up with Warcraft and StarCraft and I'll always remember them fondly. But I wouldn't want to have anything to do with whatever Blizzard has become over the last decade.

Wonder if this was a contract thing? I mean, between the nonsense and rumors of nonsense, there's no _game_ yet to go with it. Given the lack of mid-size legs for Mei, older style shooters, and not having the newer hip joints used in Ninjago mechs for next year, I also wonder if this was a leak of a design meant to be released earlier, and it's more akin to if someone were to find high quality pictures of that canceled Constraction Super Battle Droid.

@Mr__Thrawn said:
" @darthsutius said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?
"

The set doesn’t assault people, it just makes money for people who assault people. Activision Blizzard receives a sum of money to allow for the production and sale of these sets, so purchasing them is directly contributing to the company, indirectly supporting them. It’s not “political,” it’s not “snowflakes” being upset by nothing. While I don’t doubt that there are good individuals working at Blizzard, the collective whole enables illegal and immoral behavior. It’s not as if some low-ranking employees committed some unconnected crimes- high-ranking employees did these things, with the knowledge of company executives. You can’t fix that by just firing a few guys and updating your HR policy, and it’s certainly justifiable to stop purchasing the company’s products for that reason."

I feel like not only can you separate them, you need to separate them. I definitely get it. You’d feel sort of complicit in their awfulness if you can’t hurt them in the best way you can. But you don’t hurt the bad ones, you hurt everyone. What usually happens when a game company doesn’t meet targets? People get fired. Companies close. So these people we absolutely support that have been abused are now also unemployed. It’s really tough.

I see the other side. Effectively ignoring the bad behavior might not result in the bad people losing their jobs, who should. It sucks. It’s a tough place.

Apart from the PR nightmare, it may be a little odd asking for people to buy a Lego set based on a sequel that no-one knows when it will ever be released.

Horrific timing

Not saying anything revolutionary here by pointing out the god-awful timing.

It doesn't help that for the (rumored) $70, the set just... doesn't look all the way there. Not sure why, but it feels like its missing some pieces.

I'm just curious as to why, between Lego's own guidelines, the limited excitement for Overwatch 2, and the very recent and prevalent legal issues with Activision/Blizzard, Lego decided to go ahead and continue this theme. Just a very strange decision.

Yeah, they're probably gonna cancel this set in wake of recent news, or at least hold it back until the game comes out. With how big of an issue Blizzard's admittedly disgusting handling of workplace harassment is and how well-known it is (I'm sure half of the comments on here, if not more, bring it up) LEGO is surely gonna notice. I hypothesize that they only revealed this set now because of how damn long it took to release after they initially designed it; rumors circulated as far back as over two years ago. If they release this on time, and that's a big flipping if, I'm not gonna boycott it; from what I've heard, all that does is rob the little guys of a bonus, at least in the gaming industry. You're not a monster if you buy these products, but if the issue matters that much to you then let your voice be heard. I wonder if the Justice League sets would have gotten this reception if Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot came out about their unjust treatment earlier.

@Stubborn_Virus said:
"Wonder if this was a contract thing? I mean, between the nonsense and rumors of nonsense, there's no _game_ yet to go with it. Given the lack of mid-size legs for Mei, older style shooters, and not having the newer hip joints used in Ninjago mechs for next year, I also wonder if this was a leak of a design meant to be released earlier, and it's more akin to if someone were to find high quality pictures of that canceled Constraction Super Battle Droid."

Brickset wouldn't publish the article without knowing that they could, thus, this is not a leak of a cancelled thing but indeed a forthcoming product (that could have been designed a while ago and got delayed, for sure).

@hawkeye7269 said:
" @Stubborn_Virus said:
"Wonder if this was a contract thing? I mean, between the nonsense and rumors of nonsense, there's no _game_ yet to go with it. Given the lack of mid-size legs for Mei, older style shooters, and not having the newer hip joints used in Ninjago mechs for next year, I also wonder if this was a leak of a design meant to be released earlier, and it's more akin to if someone were to find high quality pictures of that canceled Constraction Super Battle Droid."

Brickset wouldn't publish the article without knowing that they could, thus, this is not a leak of a cancelled thing but indeed a forthcoming product (that could have been designed a while ago and got delayed, for sure)."

Why would Brickset not publish photos of canceled things? They definitely posted about the Marvel mechs, 99% sure they posted about the Postcards, and somewhat confident they posted about the Santa GWP all before they were canceled. Brickset has an inside track but they don't have complete knowledge of everything current and past

@Mr__Thrawn said:
" The set doesn’t assault people, it just makes money for people who assault people. Activision Blizzard receives a sum of money to allow for the production and sale of these sets, so purchasing them is directly contributing to the company, indirectly supporting them. It’s not “political,” it’s not “snowflakes” being upset by nothing. While I don’t doubt that there are good individuals working at Blizzard, the collective whole enables illegal and immoral behavior. It’s not as if some low-ranking employees committed some unconnected crimes- high-ranking employees did these things, with the knowledge of company executives. You can’t fix that by just firing a few guys and updating your HR policy, and it’s certainly justifiable to stop purchasing the company’s products for that reason."

It goes further than this. Because of the efforts to block unionization and fairer wages, the profits off the licensing doesn't even go to the "good individuals." It's truly rewarding the leadership whether through profit-sharing or share prices or whatever instruments they have in place to reap profits.

@fakespacesquid said:
" @hawkeye7269 said:
" @Stubborn_Virus said:
"Wonder if this was a contract thing? I mean, between the nonsense and rumors of nonsense, there's no _game_ yet to go with it. Given the lack of mid-size legs for Mei, older style shooters, and not having the newer hip joints used in Ninjago mechs for next year, I also wonder if this was a leak of a design meant to be released earlier, and it's more akin to if someone were to find high quality pictures of that canceled Constraction Super Battle Droid."

Brickset wouldn't publish the article without knowing that they could, thus, this is not a leak of a cancelled thing but indeed a forthcoming product (that could have been designed a while ago and got delayed, for sure)."

Why would Brickset not publish photos of canceled things? They definitely posted about the Marvel mechs, 99% sure they posted about the Postcards, and somewhat confident they posted about the Santa GWP all before they were canceled. Brickset has an inside track but they don't have complete knowledge of everything current and past"

Allow me to be more precise: they would not post a photo of something that they knew was cancelled without describing it as cancelled, nor would they post a photo of something upcoming as a 'reveal' without the inside track. The ones you mention were either A) cancelled/delayed after they were revealed or B) described clearly as cancelled when they were written about by Brickset.

My point was more: if Brickset publishes it as a reveal, we can be pretty well assured that Lego is going to release it, barring unforeseen circumstances (such as the Marvel mechs, which will still likely show up).

This just adds to my hypothesis that Overwatch 2 was supposed to come out in 2021, but got delayed because of so much stuff happening beyond their control. Seeing how the original unreleased sets were supposed to tie into Overwatch 2, it makes sense for them to cancel them as the game's release fell back. I really liked the Overwatch sets we got (as someone who still plays the game, I do appreciate the character models specifically), and the new sets being based on the PvE is a smart move because said PvE will probably be the thing that gets people back into the game (most people quit Overwatch because of the PvP, and as such the changes to the PvP that are coming with Overwatch 2 are unlikely to bring them back. The PvE, on the other hand, looks so fun, I know people who HATE Overwatch admit the PvE looks interesting). Here's hoping the game does actually come out in 2022 and the claims it's been delayed again to 2023 are false.

As for the whole Activison Blizzard lawsuits and Lego associating with them, while it is a bit of a bad look for Lego to associate themselves with them again so soon (especially since Bobby Kotick refuses to step down), if it's any solace Overwatch was made by the section of Blizzard that ISN'T full of horrible people (most of the allegations came from the Warcraft and Diablo teams. Almost none came from the Overwatch team)

Cool set, but I don't have much interest in Overwatch, and any interest I did have was destroyed by all the horrible stuff going on over there. The video game industry is known for having pretty awful working conditions (for the most part, there are exceptions), but Activision Blizzard takes it to an atrocious new level. Honestly I'm rather surprised Lego is still going ahead with this, surely they must have known they'd get some heat for continuing to work with Activision.

I’m shocked and heartbroken that LEGO would continue a partnership with such an awful and frankly evil company, contracts be damned. It does however give me hope to see so many in the comments here pushing back against this.

Also, side note: if you live in the USA, you already give money to Activision/Blizzard, whether you spend a cent on their products or not. They pay $0 in taxes, in fact they get massive tax rebates from the government. I’m sorry to say, your tax dollars are helping to fund their abhorrent behaviour.

@Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

The Overwatch team was not involved in any of the problematic behavior AFAIK.

I've always believed Overwatch to be massively overrated, but I would love for Lego to do more video-game-based sets (preferably Fortnite, Halo, and Zelda).

@sipuss said:
" @Wrecknbuild said:
" @darthsutius said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Well, actually......you can separate it. You absolutely can. The problem is people being a bunch of precious snowflakes thinking that everything needs to be a political manifesto. I don't want to pull a 'guns don't kill people' type argument, but....a white plastic mech made from lego bricks didn't sexually assault anyone as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, Activision needs to sort out itself out. Yeah, people need to go to jail, most likely. But I have no doubt the majority of people there are decent, and are passionate about what they work on. Why does their work have to be boycotted just because some people can't separate their issues?
"

Overwatch may still be interesting, and the employees may generally be good people, but the same goes for Boeing, and the people who developed the Osprey. In that case, the argument for cancelling the set was that money would flow back to a company that supplies military equipment.
The same reasoning here imho. Money for the Overwatch license goes to Blizzard, and most of that will go to the CEO and staff."

And yet LEGO is still making Disney and HP sets, and selling their products through Amazon..."

Exactly, perfect analogy! How do these people exist if they can't separate issues?

Statistically, any company large enough is going to have dirtbags in it's ranks. Doesn't make what's happening in these companies right, but a little no-purchase temper tantrum doesn't help things. If there's a downshift in the company profits, do people think it's the execs or the programmers that will get let go first?

@Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Buying Harry Potter sets isn't a tacit endorsement of JK Rowling's transphobia, buying city police sets aren't a sign of approval of police brutality and enjoying Adventurers as a theme doesn't mean the buyer is pro colonialism. You can separate the social issues from the product.

I can totally understand why if it does get cancelled, but man, I really hope it doesn't cause I'm getting some serious White Glint vibes from this mech and I wanna get my grubby little hands on it to mod it hardcore.

@SolidState said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @mr_Fikou said:
"I don’t want to offend anyone or justify the horrible things happening behind the scenes at Blizzard, but Overwatch is a game I still really enjoy playing and seeing more sets based on the IP really brightens my day. I really expected to never see more characters, yet here we are! Now please do release this and make Sombra and Brigitte figures too…

And Lucio and Echo and Orisa and Bapti…. You get the point. I’m excited"

Maybe so, but we can't really separate any merchandise from the problematic people making them, especially since our engagement with it will be seen as tacit approval of their behaviour. That's something LEGO fans (if not fans in general) remain pretty disingenuous about."

Buying Harry Potter sets isn't a tacit endorsement of JK Rowling's transphobia, buying city police sets aren't a sign of approval of police brutality and enjoying Adventurers as a theme doesn't mean the buyer is pro colonialism. You can separate the social issues from the product."

No, you literally cannot separate the social issues from any purchase. JKR has explicitly interpreted buying Harry Potter merch as support for her toxic bigotry. And even if she hadn't, our engagement is still funnelling money and influence to her that she's using to demonise and subjugate transgender people—an assault that has international reach at this point.

Where exactly do you think the money goes, if not to her? Some goes to LEGO and some goes to Warner Bros., sure. But given the popularity of both LEGO and Harry Potter, a sizeable chunk is still going to the original creator. And she is never going to let go of that IP, or give up her campaign to completely remove trans people from society. There's not really any ambiguity on this point, and it's embarrassing that so, so many people are pretending otherwise even now.

In fact, I'm just going to say it; I think LEGO fan media's uncritical platforming of IPs like this is a black mark against them. I think it's a sign of deep immaturity that major platforms like Brickset are happy to post about and review sets from these licences without any kind of broader context or nod to the problematic nature of the IPs.

I think the current nature of this coverage (and much of our engagement with it) shows this community isn't anywhere near as mature or compassionate as it likes to pretend it is, and most of us (if not all of us) need to think about what these toys really mean to us.

@rvnlord said:
"Oh, politics in the comments.

Anyway I just came here to say that I wanted (since forever) not Overwatch sets, but Warcraft and Starcraft sets in minifig scale. I hope we will have them one day."

If you think "sexual harassment is bad actually" is a political statement, you might want to be readdressing your politics.

Everyone can have opinions. Anyone can choose to buy this set or not based on whatever reasons and beliefs one holds. Anyone can choose to continue buying new LEGO sets or not for any reason.

No matter what, this set should NOT be cancelled, because nobody can deny there is an audience who will buy this set for various reasons, such as it being a cool mech to build for fun, or to collect all Overwatch character minifigs. There are at least 144 Brickset members who want this set already.

If one believes Blizzard is a company one doesn't want his/her own money to flow to, don't buy this set.
If one believes LEGO is having wrongdoing violating his/her POV, personal beliefs and values, don’t buy this set and don’t buy any new LEGO sets to show that his/her action aligns with his/her thoughts and moral standard.

However, if this set is cancelled, it is unfair to LEGO fans and Overwatch fans that have been anticipating the probably last wave of sets since 2019. It is also unfair to LEGO designers and Blizzard employees who have absolutely nothing to do with the sexual harassment scandals and spent their passion in making the dream sets come true, especially those among the Overwatch team. Bear in mind those who violate the laws will be judged in a fair trial and be sentenced if proven guilty, regardless of what happens to LEGO.

A POV treating those who buy the new LEGO Overwatch sets equivalent to those who support sexual assaults is simply illogical. A person can be totally against sexual assault in any form, never did and never will commit it, and despise those who violate the laws to hurt others, and still buy this new Overwatch Lego set.
If one’s argument is that buying Blizzard Overwatch sets means paying to CEO Bobby, well, actually, the same logic also applies to the fact that buying ANY Lego set means paying to Uyghurs and Tibetans genocide, fatal crackdowns on Hongkongers and military threatening to Taiwanese.
Let facts tell you why the profits earned by Lego from your pockets flow to the Chinese government.
1) LEGO has its regional office running in Shanghai physically and hiring locals there, meaning LEGO has been paying all kinds of taxes directly and indirectly to the Chinese government.
2) Three Legoland Resorts are currently in construction in China, located in Sichuan, Shanghai and Shenzhen respectively. Lego has been approved by the Chinese government to build huge theme parks on government-owned land. An astronomical sum of investment has flown to the government. Lego also paid and signed construction contracts with Chinese nationally owned construction corporations. Chinese government officials and entities are also directly involved in planning, constructing, and in the future running and maintaining the Legoland Resort and the surrounding. Chinese government has absolute say on which foreign company can build an amusement park on its own land as it set up legal requirements on the composition and percentages of Chinese owned and nationally owned firms among the stakeholders involved. (Edited: FYI, The Lego Group owns 50% of Legoland. Other Legoland stakeholders include Canada's CPPIB and Kirk Kristiansen family.)
3) Having its company and trademarks registered under Chinese government's laws means Lego is required to pay the Chinese government corporate taxes and trademark registration fee.
4) Lego directly owns and runs most Lego stores in China. In 2020, there were 91 Lego stores in China. By the end of this year, Lego’s aim was to have around 300 Lego stores in the country. Taxes involved directly flow to the Chinese government, not to mention how rents eventually also flow to the government.
5) Lego owns directly run online stores at partially Chinese nationally owned online platforms.
6) Lego has its factory in Jiaxing. The land is owned by the Chinese government and Lego has to pay all sorts of taxes to the government. Again, hiring local workers means paying various kinds of taxes to the government.

Feel free to voice your opinion based on objective facts, but nobody should judge others th