Overwatch voice lines hint at Genji and Mercy romance

Eagle-eyed Reddit users have discovered new voice lines hidden in the most recent update to Overwatch's public test realm (PTR) suggesting that Blizzard could be releasing a new seasonal event for the shooter in a few weeks.

Reddit user akhanubis datamined the PTR update and found dialogue exchanges between Overwatch's resident cyborg ninja Genji, his brother Hanzo and healer Mercy.

The user posted three voice lines in an Overwatch subreddit, the first of which features Genji asking Hanzo if he has any chocolates. In the second, Mercy says, "I got you some chocolates, Genji. Swiss — they're the best." Genji thanks Mercy and calls her by her actual name, Angela.

"Angela, I have some chocolates for you. Not Swiss," Genji says in the third exchange. "I suppose it will have to do," Mercy sighs before affectionately thanking Genji.

The lines have thrilled fans of the popular hero-based shooter hoping to see a possible romance bloom between Mercy and Genji. According to the duo's backstory, Dr Angela Ziegler nursed Genji back to health as he grew accustomed to his new cyborg body and abilities, after which they both remained close.

In December, Blizzard's Overwatch holiday-themed comic Reflections also showed Genji and Mercy possibly sending each other letters.

Since its successful release in May 2016, Blizzard has consistently released limited-time seasonal events for Overwatch, including special content for the Olympics, Halloween and Christmas. It has also continued to delve deeper into its colourful heroes' backstories and Overwatch lore by releasing animated shorts and digital comics.

The most recent seasonal event, Winter Wonderland, brought holiday-themed loot boxes, more than 100 new cosmetic items and a new brawl mode called "Mei's Snowball Offensive".

"Looking forward to the new year, there's a lot of stuff coming," game director Jeff Kaplan said last month, noting that fans have responded extremely positively to the events released thus far. He also added that the development team loves working on the themed, limited-edition content as well.

While fans will be able to guess some of the upcoming seasonal in-game events this year, Kaplan says some will be unexpected.

Although the exchange between Genji and Mercy seems to point to a possible Valentine's Day event, Kaplan noted that while they do have some "very cool stuff planned" for 2017, they are not currently planning seasonal Valentine's Day or Easter-themed events.

However, the datamined voice lines do still hint at an upcoming surprise, perhaps in the form of a relationship reveal, as Polygon notes, or a special Overwatch comic or animated short around February 14.

Overwatch is available now for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.