Tracer is the call sign of Lena Oxton, a character who appears in Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch franchise. The 2014 Overwatch Cinematic Trailer short was her first appearance overall. An April 2016 update for the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm added her to its playable roster, marking her first inclusion in a video game. Shortly thereafter, she appeared in the first Overwatch game, a first-person hero shooter. She again appeared in its 2023 sequel, Overwatch 2.
In the Overwatch narrative, she is a peppy and energetic pilot of British origin. A damage-class hero in-game, Tracer has low health, but is highly mobile, being able to both teleport and time travel. Those abilities were caused by an accident that left her unable to maintain a physical form in the present until her friend and fellow Overwatch agent, Winston, invented the "chronal accelerator", a device that allows her to control her own time frame.
Prominently featured in the franchise's official media and serving as the first game's cover girl, Tracer is one of the most recognizable Overwatch characters and one of the more commonly featured in its fan art. Tracer has attracted media coverage related to online controversies surrounding one of her in-game victory poses, as well as her prominence in fan-produced pornography, which Blizzard has tried to remove. The character has appeared in Overwatch animated media and a digital comic series based on the game. In her comic debut, she is revealed to be a lesbian, a depiction that was positively received by media outlets and players.
Development and design
Gameplay and art Tracer was one of the first twelve Overwatch characters introduced at BlizzCon in 2014. Her in-game character model notably features tight orange pants, goggles and Crocs-like shoes. Her design is based upon an element from Blizzard's canceled project, Titan. Overwatchs game director Jeff Kaplan said Titan included a class of character called "Jumper", which developed into Tracer because Overwatch focuses on creating individual characters instead of generic classes. The Jumper class was depicted as male in most of the concept artwork and its player version. Like Tracer in Overwatch, the Jumper was equipped with the Blink and Recall abilities, as well as a Pulse bomb and dual-wielding machine pistols. The design of Tracer's pistols were influenced by the G18 pistols featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Tracer's design was influenced by Geoff Goodman, the lead hero designer for Overwatch. Tracer was the first hero designed for the game and was used to test the basic gameplay. Kaplan recounted the first Overwatch playtest, stating, "The entire level was gray and blocky and the only hero was Tracer. We had no visual effects or attachment points on her guns so she just shot laser beams out of her eyes." Overwatchs assistant game director Aaron Keller has said Temple of Anubis was the first map developed for the game, and that the map and Tracer were worked on concurrently. Keller said, "One day we got both of them in, and just with Tracer running around an unfinished map it was fun". Keller said that, unlike other characters, Tracer's three abilities were maintained throughout the game's development, noting, "from the beginning, she originated as a 'whole' hero". However, her health pool was nerfed during the game's late closed beta stages. Concerning Tracer's gameplay style, Kotakus Kirk Hamilton said "she's quick and squishy, designed more to harry the opposing team from behind than to survive a frontal assault".
Lead artist Arnold Tsang said the character's body size and running pose were considered during character design to make each hero easily identifiable. Tracer has a wild running animation and a unique trail of blue light extending behind her. Nathan Grayson of Kotaku said her jump animation appears "hyper-exaggerated and kinda goofy looking", a result of the smear frame and squash and stretch animation techniques used in Overwatch. Blizzard senior animator David Gibson pointed out frames from her jump animation: "We're trying to just push it a little further than normal. Something as simple as stretching the torso out, having her hang [in the air] just a little bit longer than normal. Really squashing her when she lands."
On the return of Overwatch's closed beta in February 2016, victory poses and other cosmetic changes were added to the characters. In March 2016, a controversy arose about Tracer's "Over the Shoulder" victory pose after a user on the game's forums said it was out of character and "reduces Tracer to just another bland female sex symbol". The post generated a discussion on the forums, which gaming outlets noted for its civility; several users added their own critical opinions of the pose while others disagreed with the original poster. Kaplan posted an apologetic response in which he announced Blizzard's plans to replace the pose because they did not want to "make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented".
The decision was met with mixed reactions from the gaming community. Some argued that Blizzard had surrendered its creative control over the game, censoring content to appease an offended user, while others praised Blizzard's willingness to listen to the community and adhere to standards for portraying characters according to their personalities. Kaplan later said the game's development team was not "entirely happy with the original pose" and that internal creative struggles over its inclusion had occurred. The following week, a replacement pose was released; one commentator said this was "different, not by much", referring to the prominent buttocks of the original pose. According to Jessica Lachenal of The Mary Sue website, the replacement pose was inspired by a cheesecake pin-up illustration by Billy De Vorss. Kaplan called the replacement pose cool, cute, and playful, and said he wished the team had chosen it originally.
The developers of Overwatch later introduced seasonal events, including themed cosmetics such as skins and sprays for players to equip the character with. Tracer received two skins during the game's first seasonal event, "Summer Games 2016", which was themed after the 2016 Summer Olympics. In the game's first year of release, she received themed skins during the game's subsequent "Winter Wonderland", "Year of the Rooster 2017", "Uprising", and "Anniversary" events.
Like the other Overwatch characters, Tracer underwent a character redesign during the development of Overwatch 2; the redesign retained her trademark orange pants and goggles, albeit visually tweaked.
Story and character Outside the game, Blizzard's fictional biography for Tracer lists her real name as Lena Oxton, her age as 26, and her base of operations as London, England.
Tracer is an adventurer and former agent of the international task force, Overwatch. In Overwatch lore, Tracer is known for her piloting skills; after being a member of the British Royal Air Force, she became the youngest person ever inducted into Overwatch's experimental flight program. She was chosen to test the Slipstream, a prototype of a teleporting fighter; during the test flight, the Slipstream's teleportation matrix malfunctioned and Tracer was pronounced dead. She later reappeared, having been desynchronized from the flow of time, preventing her from keeping a physical form in the present until a scientist named Winston created the chronal accelerator, which gives Tracer control over her own time. These events occur during a period in which the Overwatch organization was increasingly protested and criticized by the public. In an April 2017 patch, the game's "Hero Gallery" was updated to include short biographies for the characters and background information on the skins that the player can equip onto characters. Though in the franchise's narrative Overwatch was forcibly dissolved, Tracer's biography notes that she continues "to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presents itself".
Tracer was one of the first characters to have her backstory fleshed out. In an interview with PC Gamer, the game's creative director, Chris Metzen likened her to a Spider-Man–type character and stated, "Tracer [was] one of the first characters we really got to know. And while she wasn't particularly created to be a starring role, if you will, [...] it feels good to leverage her in the front of story ideas." Tracer has been called a peppy character; Hardcore Gamers Kevin Dunsmore described her as a "spunky Brit [who is] [...] full of little quips as she zips around the battlefield". Kaplan described Tracer as cute and playful, noting that she does everything with a wink and a smile. In an interview with PCGamesN, game designer Michael Chu said he feels Tracer embodies the game's theme of heroism, adding, "she has a personality which is out of the norm for most people. She is incredibly optimistic, she is incredibly bubbly—it's part of her hero persona." Matching her English origin, Tracer is voiced by English actress Cara Theobold.
At BlizzCon 2015, Metzen was asked about the presence of gay heroes in the Overwatch universe; he confirmed there were such characters but elaborated, "we want it to play out organically, we don't want it to be a data point or feel contrived in any way." A lesbian, Tracer became the first Overwatch hero to be canonically revealed as LGBTQ in Reflections, a December 2016 issue of the Overwatch digital comic. She is depicted in the comic as a partner in a romantic relationship with a woman named Emily, who is not part of the Overwatch team. Blizzard noted the importance of variety in character background, which helps deepen and enrich the game's broader fictional universe. Blizzard stated about Tracer's development, "As with any aspect of our characters' backgrounds, their sexuality is just one part of what makes our heroes who they are. From the very beginning of our work on Tracer's story, it just felt right to make this an aspect of her character."
Gameplay
Overwatch and Overwatch 2 At the original game's launch, Tracer was classified as an offense character. In a June 2018 patch for the game, Blizzard merged the offense and defense classes into a single one known as "Damage" or "damage per second" (DPS). One of the more versatile DPS characters, Tracer is listed as a two-star (medium) difficulty character for players. She is equipped with dual pulse pistols that reload quickly and deal damage rapidly at a short range. She is commonly cited by video game media as one of the fastest characters for both the original game's and sequel's rosters. Highly mobile and an effective flanker, she is considered an annoyance to the opposing team. Although Tracer has a speed advantage, she has the lowest health pool in the game. Her Blink ability, which comes with three charges, allows her to teleport a short distance in the direction she is traveling. Using this ability she can "zip behind an enemy in an instant for surprise attacks, or dodge completely out of the line of fire". Her Recall ability allows Tracer to return to her position three seconds prior, resetting her health and reloading her gun. Both abilities have a cooldown period. Tracer's ultimate ability is Pulse Bomb, a sticky bomb that clings to the first surface or hero it touches before detonating with area of effect damage.