Blizzard Entertainment is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, which will include the big BlizzCon presentation on February 19 and 20. While Blizzard fans wait for BlizzCon 2021 to roll around, they can take a look at some of the concept art that the company has been posting online for its various games, including art for some of the characters in its popular hero shooter Overwatch.

Blizzard has released original concept art for Overwatch heroes Mercy, Soldier: 76, and Sombra. The Mercy concept art shows the original design for Mercy, which was a male version of the character with a red and white color scheme as opposed to white and yellow. This version of Mercy has been known about by the Overwatch community for quite some time, and has even inspired some impressive Mercy cosplays.

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The Sombra concept art shows what the character looked like back when she was known as Omniblade. This version of Sombra was Japanese instead of Mexican, and they primarily used throwing daggers. Conversely, the version of Sombra that made it into Overwatch proper utilizes a submachine gun.

The Soldier: 76 concept art is arguably the most intriguing out of the bunch, as it shows a design by Chris Metzen dating all the way back to 1998. This look for Soldier: 76 imagines a version of the character that's not too far off from what he looks like in the actual game, though he covers his face with a blue mask. Blizzard also shared an image of Soldier: 76 concept art from 2013 by Arnold Tsang that's much closer to the real deal, though with some slight alterations.

overwatch concept art

This early Overwatch concept art for Soldier: 76 lists the character's name as "Seventy Six" and has him equipped with an SMG. Most notably, this version of the character lacks his signature mask and visor, giving players a clear look at his face. Other than that, though, this Soldier: 76 art is pretty close to the final product, with the same hair color, scars, outfit, and color scheme being mostly the same.

overwatch soldier 76 design

Since Overwatch is regularly adding new skins, it's surprising that skins based on these concepts haven't been added yet. Maybe Blizzard can be convinced if there is enough fan demand to see these versions of the popular characters finally make it to the game proper, though it has not revealed any plans to make these looks available in-game as skins.

The future of Overwatch will undoubtedly consist of more skins, even if they aren't these ones, though it will also be much more than that. Blizzard is hard at work on Overwatch 2, and it's expected to showcase the game at BlizzCon this month. The Overwatch 2 release date isn't expected until 2022 at this point, though, so it's unclear what Blizzard will be showing when it comes to the game.

Overwatch is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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