For a game that has little PvE content, Overwatch 2 has some surprisingly deep lore. Over the last six years or so, Overwatch's lore has continued to evolve through a variety of mediums. From Blizzard's superb animated Overwatch shorts, to a range of comics, to in-game dialogue, the IP's world and characters have been gradually fleshed out over the years. One of the most interesting Overwatch pieces of lore is Null Sector, a group of extremist Omnics, and one of the Overwatch organization's most prominent foes.
Just a few days ago, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 would be receiving a new playable hero in its next Season. Named Ramattra, long-time fans of Overwatch will already recognize this character as the leader of the Omnic terrorist organization Null Sector. Looking to free their people through any means necessary, Null Sector is a fairly sympathetic villain, but its members have done some pretty horrific things in pursuit of that goal.
Who Are Overwatch 2's Null Sector?
Over a decade before the events of the first Overwatch, the human population had begun to rely on sentient robots known as Omnics. Despite having full sentience, these Omnics were treated as slaves across the world, forced to do dangerous manual labor while being denied any form of rights. In the more fearful countries, Omnics were often escorted through the streets by armed guards, and given no agency.
After enduring these conditions for years, Omnics banded together and Null Sector emerged -- seemingly founded by the Omnic by the name of Ramattra -- in order to stand up for Omnic rights in his homeland of the United Kingdom. Null Sector quickly gained traction in the UK, and more Omnics joined the fight for equality. Eventually, Null Sector had enough forces to start a revolution, and thus launched the King's Row Uprising in London.
Chaos soon erupted on the streets, and hundreds were killed. Though Overwatch was told not to interfere, the group's leader, Jack Morrison, decided to fight against Null Sector after they kidnaped the city's mayor. Tracer, Mercy, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt were all sent to the streets of London, and together they managed to fend off the Omnic hordes. After a month of fighting in London, Null Sector went underground. Null Sector's leader Ramattra was soon contacted by Doomfist, the leader of Talon, a fellow terrorist organization. Unlike Null Sector's goal of equality, Talon believes that the world can only improve if it's subjected to hardship, and thus Doomfist extends his hand to Ramattra, suggesting that they should join forces.
Years later, after the downfall of Overwatch, Null Sector would rear its head once again. With Talon stoking the flames, Null Sector was able to launch an attack on Paris. Though Tracer, Mei, and Winston were vastly outnumbered, they still answered the call for aid, and managed to fend off the Omnics until reinforcements arrived in the way of old and new Overwatch members. Soon after, Null Sector launched a similar attack in Busan, though the MEKA Squad, including D.Va, managed to take down the opposing force's command ship. Once Overwatch arrived on the scene, Null Sector was forced to retreat once more.
Null Sector's forces quickly spread across the globe, launching simultaneous attacks across Earth that overwhelmed most military defenses. When Overwatch 2 picks up, it's presumed that Null Sector is still launching a series of devastating attacks across the globe, and the newly reinstated Overwatch are the only heroes that can stop the Omnic uprising.
Overwatch 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.