Overwatch fans believe they have identified the God program Chernobog as the mastermind behind The Conspiracy, and Emre was the key to figuring it all out. If these players are correct, the biggest mystery in Overwatch history might be connected to one of its oldest pieces of lore.
On February 10, Overwatch released its soft relaunch with Reign of Talon Season 1: Conquest. One of the many things added in this update was Emre Sarioglu, a new Damage hero with a storied history in Future Earth. The former Overwatch agent fell from grace after leaving the organization, joining forces with Talon to pursue an unknown agenda.
Three Heroes Just Left Talon In Overwatch… And Even More Just Joined Up
Several key operatives from Talon officially leave the organization, but even more Overwatch heroes join up in light of Vendetta’s ascendance.
Chernobog God Program AI May Still Be Active in Overwatch
That said, the heel turn of the new Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1 hero is far more complicated than one might expect. As shared by The Omnic Reporter on Twitter, Emre’s biography on the Overwatch website consists of a string of numbers and letters with seemingly no meaning. However, through some guesswork, Overwatch fan Shax was able to develop a cipher that led them to an interesting phrase: the garbled message became “VAROITUS: CHERNOBOG-OHITUS KÄYNNISTETTY” which, when translated from Finnish, means “WARNING: CHERNOBOG-BYPASS INITIATED.”
Chernobog was the Finnish God program developed to control and monitor global security in the world of Overwatch. After the Anubis God program went rogue and began the Omnic Crisis in Overwatch lore, Chernobog was shut down by world governments who feared it would rise up against humanity as well. Before it was disconnected, Chernobog printed hundreds of pages of instructions on how to maintain security without it, and transmitted one final message: “I understand. I’m sorry.”
Shax’s discovery suggests the God program may still be active – and much less benevolent than its earlier lore suggested. When Overwatch first revealed Emre’s recent backstory in the “Search and Destroy” comic, Emre’s mind was not his own, causing him to fire on Freja, his old friend and colleague. The recent “Another Life” short story picked up where the comic left off, in which Emre explained there were gaps in his memory shortly after he left Overwatch. Now, a mysterious entity compels him to pursue an agenda he does not understand – and if he fails to do so, it overrides his consciousness through his implants, as occurred when he first saw Freja again, or when he uses his Ultimate in Overwatch.
Emre, Chernobog, And the Overwatch Eye “Conspiracy”
If Emre’s mental hijacker is Chernobog, it could have massive implications for the lore of Overwatch. This is primarily because of the eye motif present on Emre’s armor, which features a stylized red eye with three dots above and below it. This symbol has historically been associated with one of the deepest mysteries in Overwatch, dubbed by fans as “The Conspiracy.”
The Conspiracy was introduced during Sombra’s backstory as a figure or organization with influence over Talon, Overwatch, Volskaya Industries, LumeriCo, and more. Little has been known about this mystery for most of the last decade, though the “Lucky Man” short story featuring Soldier: 76 and Sombra implied The Conspiracy was behind the destruction of Overwatch HQ. Now, Emre is almost certainly an unwilling agent of The Conspiracy, who has him attacking satellite command centers that monitor global security – something the Chernobog God program would be very interested in.
All the God programs were thought to be inactive, so if Chernobog has not only been online this whole time, but also pulling the strings behind the scenes, it could be a game-changer. The Conspiracy’s goals are still shrouded in mystery, but if it is indeed Chernobog, it could seek to restart a new Omnic Crisis, or even reawaken other God programs like Anubis, Macaria, Xibalba, or whatever is controlling the Gwishin, which Overwatch hero D.Va and MEKA Squad must contend with. Only time will tell what is truly going on, but such a development would open many doors for future Overwatch storylines.
- Released
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May 24, 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence (online interactions not rated)
- Engine
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Proprietary
