Blizzard vows to fix Overwatch 'bug' that has shrunk Mei's waist [Updated]

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The Year of the Rooster skins have had an apparently unintended effect.

The beginning of Overwatch's Year of the Rooster event yesterday was greeted with much fanfare, but also a little confusion and controversy around two new Mei skins that make her look thinner. The effect is relatively subtle when seen from the front, but as this video from YouTuber 4chko makes clear, it's a whole lot more obvious when viewed from a different angle. Something is definitely different.

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As reported by Kotaku, complaints about the change were greeted with a message stating that a bug in the Luna and Chang'e skins "were causing her waist to appear much smaller than normal." Community manager Lylirra said in a Battle.net forum post that the bug has been fixed internally, but the fix won't be rolled out until the next patch. Even so, some Overwatch fans have suggested that Mei's new look isn't a bug at all, but rather a gone-wrong attempt to slim her down (and sexy her up, I guess?) that Blizzard is now scrambling to disavow and revert. 

But the images above, and below, just don't look right: Not anatomically impossible, but too ham-fisted to be intentional. That admittedly comes from a guy who until this morning thought Mei was just a short woman in a really heavy coat, but despite the deletion of the relevant Blizzard forum thread (which does seem a bit strange under the circumstances) I think "bug" really is the most likely explanation.

I've emailed Blizzard to see if we can get a better explanation for what caused this. I'll let you know if and when I hear back.

Update: The forum post containing Lylirra's response had been deleted when this post originally went up, but has since been restored. A Blizzard rep confirmed in email that "it is indeed a graphical glitch with those two particular Mei skins," and said they will be fixed in an upcoming patch.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.