Overwatch Characters: Which States Search for Your Favorite?

We got really excited to do a list of the most popular Overwatch characters in each state. Everyone in the office plays a little more than we’d care to admit.

However, after the dust settled on our research, one character in particular stood out slightly more than the others:

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This is probably due to the AR game surrounding Sombra’s initial release — globally the term “Sombra Overwatch” has been searched at least ten times more than any other character.

So, yeah. We get it. Sombra’s great.

But she makes the map and the list super boring, so we decided to take a slightly different approach.

In particular, which state, for the their size, disproportionately Google various characters from the game? Here’s that map:

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Due to the (relatively) limited number of characters in the game, and some states winning multiple times, the map comes up a little different than before.

Let us explain how we got here.

Overwatch, the competitive multiplayer shooter published by Blizzard Entertainment, has grown from a retooled version of a canceled MMO into what for many critics was 2016’s Game of the Year.

Most were impressed with the character-focused story, clean and inviting sci-fi aesthetic, and surprisingly optimistic semi-post-apocalyptic setting. However, what really hooked reviewers was the fact that everything else Overwatch had to offer was built on the already solid base of Overwatch’s varied, interesting shooting mechanics, and Blizzard also received praise for the way they went on to consistently update and balance the game after its release.

The Cultural Phenomenon

More than simply being a popular game, Overwatch has quickly turned into a cultural phenomenon, and one of the chief reasons for this is the popularity of the individual characters themselves.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, as Blizzard’s made a few social justice missteps over the past year when it came to character costumes and victory poses. Overall, though, Blizzard Entertainment’s commitment to making its cast diverse and inclusive has garnered significant praise from social justice groups, and the mech-piloting D.Va has even become a feminist icon in her home country of South Korea (as covered in this great article by Polygon’s Allegra Frank).

Following this sort of regional appreciation that Overwatch has generated on a national level, we at Zippia were curious: looking at the United States in particular, are individual characters more popular in certain states than in others?

The answer, it seemed to be, was yes. Especially in Hawaii, where Overwatch is apparently wildly popular — it was the top disproportionate searcher for five total Overwatch characters, and came in second and third place for three more. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

How We Figured This Out

Before we get into the list, here’s a quick rundown of how we got this information in the first place.

Using Google Trends, we were able to compare the popularity of certain search terms over others and get information about which states disproportionately Google particular characters’ names more than others.

Because of the fact that certain characters’ names (like Reaper or Mei) were common enough that there was no way to tell if the search was Overwatch-related, certain names were appended with the title of the game itself (instead turning the search terms into things like “Reaper Overwatch” or “Mei Overwatch”). However, other names, like D.Va or Soldier: 76, were unique enough to be commonly searched for without the game’s title, and so these names were left alone as their own complete search terms.

Using these constraints, we were able to put together our list of each character and the states that disproportionately Google them the most. And just for fun, we threw in the second and third states most-Googling them as well.

It’s important to note that some states are the top disproportionate-searchers for multiple characters, so you’ll see a few states (like Hawaii, Maryland, and Rhode Island, among others) appear multiple times, while others (like Massachusetts or either of the Carolinas) won’t appear at all.

Below you’ll find our list, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t first shamelessly plug our website’s official career guide pages, particularly those for Programmers and Animation Artists. If you’re interested in Game Design (or any career), we have tons of information on how to get the job you really want, and we’re especially committed to helping out first-time job seekers navigate the difficult process of interviewing, resume-writing, and everything else it takes to land their first gig.

Okay, with all that out of the way, onto the list!

The List: Overwatch Characters and the States that Google ‘Em

All character biographical information taken from the Overwatch Wiki on Gamepedia, as well as Blizzard’s official Overwatch website.

Overwatch Characters: Which States Search for Your Favorite?

The Cultural Phenomenon

How We Figured This Out

The List: Overwatch Characters and the States that Google ‘Em

Ana

Bastion

D.Va

Genji

Hanzo

Junkrat

Lucio

McCree

Mei

Mercy

Orisa

Pharah

Reaper

Reinhardt

Roadhog

Soldier: 76

Sombra

Symmetra

Torbjörn

Tracer

Widowmaker

Winston

Zarya

Zenyatta