Blizzard has released the latest Overwatch animated short, titled "Rise and Shine" and starring everyone's favorite Overwatch climatologist Mei. Blizzard debuted the video live in front of a gamescom audience, part of the company's Blizzard Reveal Ceremony featuring announcements from Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, and of course Overwatch. Rise and Shine was the only Overwatch-related reveal of the event, but was the highlight nevertheless.

In Rise and Shine, Overwatch players get a look at what could be considered Mei's origin story. Players have long known that Mei woke up from an extended period of suspended animation to tragic circumstances, but this new animated short provides a detailed recounting of Mei's experiences. It also sets up a potentially compelling storyline regarding a new danger Overwatch may not be aware of.

It seems like Overwatch fans should come to terms with every character having an emotional and likely tragic backstory. Mei is no different, as she overcomes adversity and discovers her inner strength in Rise and Shine. It's almost like personal empowerment is a theme Overwatch loves to reinforce, both in its stories and in its player-base.

As ever, Blizzard's exceptional cinematic animation team is on point. The quality of Rise and Shine is incredible, leading many community members to question when Blizzard is going to start developing feature length films to go along with its games. Rise and Shine manages a Pixar quality of animation, yet retains the style and feel of the Overwatch game at the same time. Players are likely already looking forward to the next animated short, just to see what the Blizzard animation team is able to do next.

Rise and Shine caps off a week of gamescom reveals for Blizzard, though with Blizzard there's always question marks over whether the company is truly done. The animated short follows up the announcement of the Junkerton escort map, replete with trailer and a new type of in-engine animated video featuring Roadhog and Junkrat. Then, earlier today, Game Director Jeff Kaplan released a developer update detailing plans for Overwatch's sixth competitive season.

There's still plenty of questions to be answered about these new announcements, however. With that in mind, expect more information on Junkertown and other forthcoming changes and additions to Overwatch in the weeks to come.

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