Voiced by Chloé Hollings, 'Widowmaker' is the alias of Amélie Lacroix, a French ballerina-turned-sleeper agent for the terrorist organization Talon, who after killing her husband becomes a high-profile sniper assassin.

[1] Longshot's concept borrowed a sniper rifle and grappling hook elements from Titan's planned "Ranger" class,[5] and added a machine pistol and a "recon visor".

[6] As the concept developed, Longshot's appearance changed to a woman with pale skin with her stomach and the undersides of her breasts exposed, clothed in cargo pants covering her legs.

[1] Several concepts were considered, with a primary focus on her visor to have multiple red "bug" eyes and changing her outfit to a revealing bodysuit with spiked heels.

[1] Several approaches to her design were considered during this time, including various degrees of chitin-like armor as well as the possibility of a segmented stinger-like grappling hook that coiled around her arm.

Her outfit consists of a form-fitting light purple bodysuit with short sleeves and the front unzipped with plunging cleavage, while the back is similarly exposed.

Now operating under the moniker "Widowmaker", they experimented on her to improve her combat capabilities, slowing her heartrate which caused her skin to turn light blue and her emotions to be numbed.

Set prior to the events of the game and shortly after Gerard's murder, in the comic Overwatch attempts to rescue hostages from a Talon installation, but come under fire from Widowmaker.

[22] She lastly appears as a minor character in the short story Code of Violence, set before the events of the game, in which she assists Talon with retrieving a scientist.

[28] In Overwatch 2, Widowmaker gains a short term boost to her reload and movement speed after killing an enemy, due to a new passive ability given to all "Damage" class characters.

[33][34] Additional material includes a cosplay guide, promotional images themed around holidays,[7][35] and a Figma-line figurine released by Good Smile Company in February 2018.

[45] In contrast, however, Alyssa Mercante of Kotaku more forwardly described her as "aggressively sexualized", further complaining that her "impossibly long legs and massive tits" seemed to be targeting the male gaze whenever she appeared on the screen.

In it she stated that while she could rationalize the character's sleek outfit due to her role as a sniper and her heels to absorb the shock of jumping down, her chest felt like it was solely "a sex object" and questioning any valid reasoning for such a presentation.

[47] Similar qualms were raised by Comic Book Resources and Rock Paper Shotgun, both of which questioning why her armor seemed intended to distract opponents up close if her goal as a sniper was to keep far away instead, with Philippa Warr of the latter stating "Who could she possibly be alluring?

[42] Nico Devil of Vice cited her as an example of what they felt was an overused trope by Blizzard when it came to their female villain or anti-hero characters, routinely portraying their "torture, trauma, control and revenge [...] indelibly written upon their bodies in an unmistakable way".

She further described the more aggressive elements of her design "old-fashioned purity culture with spikes and blades," and added that her personality felt more like a punishment, preventing Widowmaker from reaching an emotional conclusion.

He further noted that she was one of the most-searched subjects on sites like Pornhub once Overwatch entered its open beta period,[52] a trend that has continued well past the game's actual release through 2022.

[53] Destructoid's Steven Hansen also mentioned the phenomenon, commenting that he'd already stumbled on Widowmaker having sex with "like three different Overwatch characters — all women — on the first page of a simple Google image search" when trying to write the article.

[55][56] The book Modes of Esports Engagement in Overwatch discussed these two portrayals in detail, attributing her usage to force the normally dominant character into a submissive role for the benefit of male viewers.