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Senior producer Kenny Hudson recently explained that these “sexier” designs are actually born from logistical necessity rather than a pure marketing ploy. Speaking with Gamespot, Hudson noted that creating heroes with consistent proportions helps streamline the development of future cosmetics and avoids technical bottlenecks.
“One thing that significantly aids our workflow is giving characters longer limbs and a standardized core height,” Hudson explained. “Standardizing these proportions makes it much easier for our art team to apply new geometry and skins to the models without breaking the animation or clipping.”
Hudson also mentioned that the studio revamped its hero creation pipeline following the “crisis” caused by Wrecking Ball—a complex hamster-piloted mech. With these new systems in place, he suggested it might be easier for the team to explore more unconventional designs in the future, even if recent trends suggest otherwise.
How do you have a massive team of world-class artists and still end up with facial homogenization this obvious? It’s becoming distracting. pic.twitter.com/8AK1m9I7D4
The technical explanation for body types doesn’t quite explain why facial features have also become so similar. On social media, players have been documenting the striking resemblances between the upcoming DPS hero Anran and existing supports like Kiriko and Juno. This aesthetic overlap has led to the viral term “same-face syndrome.”
Community members have pointed out that Anran’s early teaser concepts featured a more distinct look, with a sharper jawline and more intense eyes. The final model, however, appears to have been softened, falling victim to what fans call “Kirikofication”—a push toward a more uniform, youthful facial structure.
While Blizzard insists they still have a passion for “oddball” characters—citing the recent reveal of the long-rumored Jetpack Cat hero—the community remains skeptical about whether the days of truly diverse human designs are behind them.
With competition like Marvel Rivals heating up, fans are hoping Blizzard returns to the bold, varied character designs that made the original game a standout in the genre.
