‘Overwatch’ Debuts New ‘Reunion’ Animated Short

In the midst of today's BlizzCon Opening Ceremony, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan took the stage at the Overwatch arena to present a brand new animated short from the game, revolving around McCree.

In Reunion, we get a good look at some adversaries he goes up against, including the latest Hero to be introduced to the game, the shotgun-toting cowgirl Ashe, along with her robotic cohort Bob. You can watch the full short above, but here's a breakdown of what happens:

We start by seeing a pretty much emptied out diner, with a phone off the hook and not a single person to be seen, save for an unseen figure that's enjoying a piece of pie. But all of a sudden, a large robotic structure outside, and the figure gets up to investigate, but not before grabbing his cowboy hat.

Yep, we learn that the figure is McCree, and he soon comes across a soldier, a member of the Deadlock crew (you can tell with their bandannas), rooting through grenades. He scares him off easily, but then comes face-to-face with Ashe, who has a history with McCree as she calls him by his first name, "Jesse."

We then get a good glimpse of Bob, the large robot cohort that's holding a Route 66 sign as a melee weapon. As McCree and Ashe speak, he watches carefully. McCree simply notes that he just wants what's inside a crate, but Ashe isn't ready to let him have it.

It's here that McCree becomes surrounded by enemy soldiers, just as the diner's clock is about to strike, yup, "higggghhhh noon." When it does, guns go a-blazing, but McCree is able to survive the assault with ease, trapping one soldier and taking out the sniper from above.

Bob pulls out guns out of his hands and begins firing, forcing McCree to take cover. Ashe calls him out, but McCree responds by pulling a number of grenades, making them explode by shooting at them.

Later, Ashe finds herself tied up, along with the others, and Bob "disposed of." McCree then approaches the crate and releases what appears to be an old cyborg ally, explaining that he's "getting the band back together," and that "they want me, but really, they need you." He then goes riding off on his motorcycle, no doubt to his next adventure.

This is a terrific tie-in with the Overwatch saga and the announcement of Ashe as a character in the game. So watch it a few times and let it soak in. Also, isn't it great that "High noon" finally has meaning in the Overwatch world? We love it!

Overwatch is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.