Schell Games

Playing support in Overwatch used to be something you’d get flamed for.

In the post-Jetpack Cat world, though? That’s another story.

By leaning into the social roles and communities behind their characters, the team at Blizzard understood their audience and honed in on the weaknesses these marginalized support characters faced. Their focus was on bringing their fan community to the next level and putting full emphasis on the fact that players need each other to succeed.

Plus, if they could get saved by a rocket-powered feline on the way, why not?

Want to watch our latest Lens of the Month?

https://youtu.be/3AN7tVaAlaA?si=iC9yBmr3OKMV6puG

📖 GET THE BOOK 📖 Want to design better games? Get "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses" by our CEO Jesse Schell - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Lenses-Third-dp-1138632058/dp/1138632058

🔍 VIEW THE LENSES 🔍 All of the lenses are available on a free online desk. Browse to your heart’s content - https://deck.artofgamedesign.com/ #/

When you think of games whose community is integral to their experience, Overwatch rises to the challenge.

In our latest Lens of the Month, we’re breaking down how Blizzard’s focus on a shared identity, frictionless communication and more influenced the 2026 Overwatch revival to become what it is today. Whether you’re a gamer, developer, or UX designer, this Lens of the Month dives deep into those player experience choices that define the hit hero shooter.

Ready to watch?

https://ow.ly/CF4a50Z6QHt

📖 GET THE BOOK 📖 Want to design better games? Get "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses" by our CEO Jesse Schell - https://ow.ly/XeVo50Z6QHr

🔍 VIEW THE LENSES 🔍 All of the lenses are available on a free online deck. Browse to your heart’s content - https://ow.ly/a2nN50Z6QHs

We are so excited to announce that our corporate video, “Schell Games | The Game Studio Turning Impossible Into Reality”, was a Silver Winner at the 2026 Telly Awards!

Spotlights on our interdisciplinary team, highlights from our cutting-edge experiences, and a tour of our vibrant Pittsburgh headquarters all came together for a fantastic look at what we do each day.

Thank you so much to both the Telly Awards for considering our video and Ox Productions for editing!

While it might seem like “freedom” in a game can reflect the unstructured adventures that open-world games can offer, it can also refer to the freedom of choice that you have when playing a game like Pokémon: Pokopia!

You even have the agency to decide how Pokémon, ecologically, can enter your game’s narrative. Through luring mechanisms and specific decisions, you can make the choice to bring in a Pokémon you’ve really been looking forward to seeing (in this instance, Koffing!), rather than knowing you’re going through the same gameplay that everyone else playing the game is experiencing.

Want to watch the whole Lens of the Month video? Click the link in our bio!

📖 GET THE BOOK 📖 Want to design better games? Get "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses" by our CEO Jesse Schell through the link in our bio!

🔍 VIEW THE LENSES 🔍 All of the lenses are available on a free online desk. Browse to your heart’s content by clicking the link in our bio!

🧡 YOUTUBE FOOTAGE CREDIT 🧡 AquaPoke, AustinJohnPlays, JakeBlenningsLive, CalemMrNazreenn, delvoxpokopia, healmore8716, HeroVoltsy, iStarlyTV, Lightos, NintenUnity, Osirus, PazarGamingGuides, PointCrow, SoDesires, Trophygamers, ZackScottGames, and Zoibean!