Overwatch players have discovered an older easter egg from Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft franchise: Bastion’s Ganymede cosplaying as WoW’s infamous Pepe bird.
Around 2015, Warcraft’s Pepe, a chestnut-colored bird with a little blue beak, became a cultural sensation — first showing up in the Garrison and soon making additional appearances in various expansions and other Blizzard titles.
While Pepe has been seen in Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, it’s not until now that a majority of Overwatch’s fans realized that the little, winged celebrity exists in Blizzard’s FPS title as well.
As Reddit’s ‘Classic_Lee’ just recently noticed, Bastion’s BlizzCon 2016 skin features a subtle easter egg. Always joined by his trusty bird companion, Ganymede, it appears that the avian friend is cosplaying as Pepe in the Blizzard-centric skin.
Aside from the obvious chestnut colorway with beige accents, Ganymede also features Pepe’s patented blue beak and feet. While not as infamous as Sigma’s toes, Pepe’s blue talons are an easy giveaway for a Ganymede cosplay.
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This is far from the only disguise for Bastion’s bird buddy, as the little character has been redesigned in different colors and even in LEGO blocks. Instead of the patented yellow and green, the tiny bird enjoyed a red and blue colorway joining Bastion’s LEGO-inspired “Brick” skin.
This is also far from the only easter egg between Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and Overwatch titles. Back in November 2020, Warcraft fans discovered a casual nod to Torbjorn in the Halls of Valor — where two non-playable characters (NPCs) are named “King Torb” and “King Bjorn.”
And, as for other Blizzard titles, Overwatch’s aptly named Blizzard World map contains a sneaky Diablo 3 easter egg. Back in May 2020, Redditors realized that the barrels in Blizzard World can be broken to hear the Diablo 3 “legendary drop” sound effect.
While this Ganymede cosplay of Pepe the bird dates back to 2016, it’s nice to see it finally noticed and getting some love. If anything, fans can hope that Overwatch 2 brings more diverse outfits and appearances for Bastion’s beloved bird friend.
