Easter eggs

A list of known Easter eggs in Overwatch.

Movie and Television References

 * McCree's line, "You seem familiar, have I killed you before?" is a reference to the quote "You seem familiar. Have I threatened you before?" from Pirates of The Caribbean cited multiple times by Captain Jack Sparrow.
 * Soldier 76's line, "I’ve died a hero, and lived long enough to become the villain" is a reference to Batman The Dark knight.
 * Genji's line, "You seem nice, I hate to kill you," is a reference to Inigo Montoya from the movie The Princess Bride, when he is dueling the "Dread Pirate Roberts".
 * Genji's line, "Iza jinjō ni shōbu!" is a reference to Sanada Genjirou Yukimura from Sengoku Basara.
 * Soldier: 76's line "I love the smell of pulse munitions in the morning" is a reference to Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore's famous line from Apocalypse Now, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
 * Brigitte's line "It's just a flesh wound" is a reference to the Black Knight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * Pharah's "Mechaqueen" skin and ultimate are obvious references to the popular Japanese series Gundam.
 * McCree and Hanzo's line "You were already dead" is a reference to kenshiro from "Fist of the north star"
 * Soldier: 76's line "I'm the one who does his job. I'm thinking, you're the other one..." is a quote from Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam in the movie The Departed.
 * Genji's spray "Target Practice" is a nod to the anime Naruto.
 * In the defense spawn in Hanamura, a jacket resembling that of Naruto's can be found. It has two of the symbols of the shirt under his jacket. The symbol is also on young Genji.
 * When D.Va is in the hero spawn area, she can say "ready player one", a reference to the book of the same name.
 * Junkrat's line "Why so serious?" upon killing Reaper is a reference to The Joker from The Dark Knight.
 * When Reaper says "If it lives, I can kill it", is a likely reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's line in the movie Predator.
 * Mei's line "You have to let it go" is a reference to the popular song in the movie Frozen, "Let It Go".
 * Winston's line "Don't get me angry" is a reference to The Incredible Hulk
 * Winston also recreates the famous line from the NASA Apollo 13 mission: "Houston, we have a problem".
 * When Torbjörn says "I'm giving it all I've got" is a twist on a quote from Scotty in Star Trek.
 * Torbjörn's quote "For the last time, I'm Swedish!" is a reference to "The Swede" from the show Hell on Wheels.
 * Zarya's line "I will break you" is a nod to Ivan Drago in the movie Rocky IV.
 * Hanzo's Halloween voice line says "You are already dead" which is a reference to Ken from Fist of the North Star.
 * McCree has many lines revolving around classic westerns, including "I'm not good, not bad, but I sure as hell ain't ugly", "I'm your huckleberry" and "Reach for the sky", "I'm the quick, you're the dead", and "happy trails".
 * Inside the spawn area in Hollywood, a movie poster reads "Some like it Bot" - a twist on the movie Some like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe.
 * When Winston respawns he will sometimes recite "Once more unto the breach" which is a reference to Shakespeare's play "King Henry".
 * Reaper's line "I'm not a psychopath... I'm a high-functioning psychopath." is a reference to BBC's Sherlock, when Sherlock says "I'm not a psychopath, Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research."
 * Bastion's emote "ALERT! ALERT!" and "Rest Mode" is a reference to the movie The Iron Giant. His "Giant" spray also draws elements from the various Iron Giant posters.
 * Pharah's line "Fly casual" from the Overwatch Aniversary event is a reference to Han Solo's line in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Additionally, her line "Stay on target" was spoken twice by X-Wing pilot 'Gold Five' during the attack on the Death Star at the end of Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * Mei's line "Freeze, don't move," may be a reference to Frozone in the Incredibles.
 * Hanzo's line "I choose you, Spirit Dragon" is a reference to the line spoken in the Pokémon anime and games series. Most commonly heard as "I choose you, Pikachu!"
 * Reinhardt's Epic voice line "Impressive, if I do say so myself!" is a reference to the movie Tron which was spoken by Kevin Flynn.
 * Reinhardt’s name, “Reinhardt Wilhelm” is a reference to the Light novel and Anime Re-Zero, it comes from the master swordsman family Reinhardt van Astrea and Willhelm van Astrea
 * Zenyatta's voice line: "Death is whimsical today" is a reference to a line spoken by Gary Oldman in the movie Leon: The Professional.
 * Reinhardt's voice line: "This is no castle. It's a tomb" is a reference to " This is no mine. It's a tomb" said by Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
 * Lúcio's voice line: "That's how you get tinnitus" is a reference to the animated TV show Archer, which is said frequently by the protagonist Sterling Archer.
 * Zenyatta's voice line "Free your mind" may be referencing Morpheus from ;;The Matrix;;.
 * Junkrat (Jamison Fawkes) refers a lot to Guy Fawkes and the movie ;;V for Vendetta;;: "Remember, remember...what the heck was I saying again?" (on King's Row) and humming the song "Overture 1812" after a RIP-Tire multikill.
 * Sombra's "Deaf-Mute" spray is a reference to the hacker - The Laughing Man - in the anime Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex; referencing his catchphrase -"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes", which is a reference to Catcher in the Rye - and logo covering a persons face.
 * Sombra's voice lines: "Mess with the best and die like the rest" and "Hack the planet" are quotes from the movie Hackers.
 * Winston's Yeti skin-specific voice lines: "Welcome to the Himalayas." and "Snowcone? They're lemon." are a reference to the Abominable Snowman from the movie Monsters Inc.
 * D.Va's Junker skin-specific voice line: "You hear me, baby? Hold together!" is a reference to Han Solo's line to the Millennium Falcon during the TIE Fighter attack scene from Star Wars Episode animated film The Incredibles, where Frozone freezes a group of police officers after being ordered by the same line.
 * Roadhog's voice line Say bacon one more time... is a possible reference to the famous line "Say 'what' again. Say 'what' again! I dare you; I double dare you! from the movie Pulp Fiction''. (More likely to be referencing Hancock's line "Call me an a**hole one more time...")
 * Ana's voice line  Witness me  is a reference to the movie  Mad Max: Fury Road .
 * Ana's voice line "Come with me if you want to live" is a reference to the Terminator franchise.
 * Ana's line "You know nothing" is a reference to the tv-series Game of Thrones and novel series A Song of Ice and Fire.
 * The first Defensive Spawn Point at Route 66 has a sign that reads "Deadlock Propane and Propane Accessories", which is a reference to the animated TV show King of the Hill, in which the main character, Hank Hill, who works for Strickland Propane often says, "I sell propane and propane accessories."
 * Mei's voice line "I'm going to have to science the heck out of this" is a reference to the 2015 film The Martian.
 * Orisa often quotes Baymax from Big Hero 6.
 * Zarya's final blow line "From Russia, with love," is a reference to Ian Fleming's James Bond film of the same name.
 * The bar-scan code which is found on the Soldier: 76's Grillmaster skin's biotic field canister reads 0118 999 881 999 119 7253, which is a direct reference to the "easy to remember" emergency number from the UK comedy sitcom The IT Crowd.
 * Torbjörn's spray called "Chef" is a reference to the character of Swedish Chef from The Muppets.
 * Reinhardt's Halloween voice line "What do we have here?" might be a reference to The Oogie Boogie Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
 * Reinhardt's Halloween voice line "Smashing!" is a reference to Nigel Thornberry from The Wild Thornberries.
 * Doomfist's spray "Punchman" and highlight intro "One Punch" are references to the anime/manga "One Punch Man".
 * Mercy's voice line "On a scale of one to ten, how is your pain?" could be a reference to Baymax's "On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your pain?" quote from Big Hero 6.
 * Upon dealing a final blow, a voice line by Mercy may be triggered saying "Medic! ...Wait, that's me!" This is most likely a reference to Team Fortress 2's voice lines directed towards the Medic.
 * Moira's line "Good news, everyone" is a reference to the catchphrase of Professor Farnsworth from Futurama.
 * Moira's sprays "Orb" are reference to Labyrinth (1986 film), "plotting" from Neon Genesis Evangelion, "power level" from Dragon Ball, "self-experimentation" from Akira.
 * Echo's spray "Ghost" is a reference to the Japanese poster for the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell
 * Echo's spray "Focus" is a reference to the character Tien from Dragon Ball Z
 * Echo's spray "Kung Fu" is a reference to the famous line spoken by Keeanu Reeves' character Neo in The Matrix.
 * Baptiste has a spray called "Too Powerful" which references Dragon Ball Z 
 * McCree’s “High Noon” spray is essentially a remake of one of the “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” movie posters.
 * Orisa's "Heroes" spray is inspired by on the of the movie posters for A New Hope from Starwars

Game References

 * The tents on Dorado have a very similar heart shape to the Kingdom Hearts franchise on top of them at the first payload checkpoint.
 * The arcade in Hanamura includes a game called Fighters of the Storm, which is a reference to the Blizzard title Heroes of the Storm.
 * Another game in the arcade, Super Siege Mode 3, is a side-scrolling shooter similar to Metal Slug designed in a StarCraft theme.
 * The Lost Vikings VI in the Hanamura arcade is a nod to Blizzard's The Lost Vikings series.
 * Soulstone Demonslayer features the main characters from Diablo III in a beat-em-up setting.
 * A murloc can be seen at the bottom of one of the soda dispensers in the Hanamura arcade.
 * Outside of the arcade, you can find a large, 16-bit version of Jim Raynor from StarCraft.
 * In Hanamura, there is a massive murloc display advertising a ramen noodle shop. If you fire at the murloc, you can hear its signature gurgling noise.
 * Also In Temple of Anubis, you can see murloc graffiti painting on the outside of the vehicle.
 * In the spawn area for the attack team in Temple of Anubis, you'll find a tablet with the Blizzard title Hearthstone on the screen.
 * Also in the spawn area, a zerg skull from StarCraft can be seen on the wall.
 * When inspecting the hieroglyphics in Temple of Anubis, you can find the Horde symbol from World of Warcraft.
 * The lockers in Watchpoint: Gibraltar display the last names of some of the Blizzard game developers.
 * In the Hollywood map, Goldshire Pictures, Goldshire Studios, and Goldshire Way all reference a town in Elwynn Forest from World of Warcraft.
 * The Alliance symbol from World of Warcraft can be found in a number of locations in Hollywood, including the Goldshire Pictures logo and on a vehicle.
 * The cameras in Hollywood display the name "Kilrogg", a reference to Kilrogg Deadeye, a one eyed orc in World of Warcraft.
 * A tablet displaying Hearthstone can also be found in Hollywood.
 * The walk of fame stars outside the attacker spawn area in Hollywood display the names of three characters from The Lost Vikings.
 * In the Hollywood spawn area, a movie poster reads "Hero of My Storm" - a clear reference to Heroes of the Storm.
 * There is a trailer on Hollywood with the name Tyrael written on the side. This is a reference to the Diablo series.
 * In Dorado, there are pinatas shaped like Diablo.
 * Ilios has a tablet displaying Hearthstone.
 * If you look in the store countertops in Ilios, you'll find murk bait.
 * In the restaurant in Route 66, you can find a check signed by Deckard Cain from Diablo on the wall.
 * Also in the restaurant, there's a poster of Diableaux Hot Sauce, a clear reference to Diablo.
 * Laying on the restaurant's counter, you'll find a comic titled Craft from the Stars, a play on StarCraft.
 * On the soda fountain in the Route 66 restaurant, there is a zerg StarCraft symbol and a beverage called Dr. Boom, which is a reference to a World of Warcraft NPC and Hearthstone legendary card.
 * In one of Roadhog's equipable sprays, it can be seen that it is a reference to an Angry Birds piggie character.
 * Torbjorn's spray "Catch a Ride" is a reference to the catchphrase commonly spoken by scooter from Borderlands. The spray itself ls an obvious reference to his logo in the games.
 * Echo's equippable voice line "Loading additional skill modules" is also a reference to the Borderlands series, being what the player sees when reaching the right level to unlock their action skill.
 * Pharah's voice line "rocket jump? That sounds dangerous." is an allusion to a common maneuver seen in other first-person shooters such as Quake or Team Fortress 2.
 * Lúcio's voice line "You Gotta Believe" is from the PaRappa video game series.
 * Symmetra's voice line "The cake is a lie... or is it?" and "The cake is not a lie." is a reference to "Portal".
 * Mercy's voice line "Need a second opinion?" is a reference to the Team Fortress 2 character, Medic's line "Would you like a second opinion? You are also ugly!"
 * In the map Eichenwalde a sword in a pile of ashes can be seen near the defenders spawn. This is a reference to the bonfires of the "Dark Souls" game franchise.
 * Also in Eichenwalde, Diablo's horns can be seen among animal antlers in a shop.
 * D.Va will sometimes enumerate the famous Konami-Code (up, up, down down, left, right, b, a, start).
 * Genji's ultimate Dragonblade is a reference to the Quake character Slash, who is also known as The DragonBlade.
 * The Junkers term is a reference to the group of the same name in StarCraft II.
 * Pharah's suit design is a reference to the StarCraft II unit Reaper, whose suit includes a jetpack, a helmet that covers the face.
 * Sombra's Winter Wonderland skin "Rime" has a skull resembling the skull on Frostmourne from World of Warcraft, the sword of the Lich King, as well the skin color scheme and the radiating cold is a reference to the Frost wyrms, while the skin's name could be the shortening of "Rimefang", a boss in the Icecrown Citadel raid.
 * Moira’s Anniversary voice line “This was a triumph.” is likely a reference to the opening line of Portal’s end credit song “Still Alive.”

Other References

 * Pharah's line "Play nice, play Pharah" is a twist on Blizzard's well-known phrase, "Play nice, play fair."
 * When Torbjörn states "Completion date? *laugh* When it's done", it references Blizzard's history of not giving release dates early in a game's development.
 * D.Va has an arsenal of gamer lingo, including "AFK", "Is this easy mode?", "GG", and "Nerf this".


 * Hanzo's lines "Flow like water" and "From one thing, know ten-thousand things" are quotes from The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.
 * Pharah's line "Fly like an Egyptian" is possibly a reference to a combination of the The Bangles song Walk like an Egyptian, and Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle"
 * Reaper's line "I'm back in black" is a reference to the AC/DC song Back in Black.
 * Reaper's respawn line "This... is my curse" is a reference to the Killswitch Engage song My Curse.
 * Reaper’s other respawn lines include “That which doesn't kill you... makes you stronger” whichreferences a quote by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
 * "Flying the friendly skies" is a line spoken by Pharah that references the famous tagline used by United Airlines.
 * If playing with multiple Soldier: 76s run by AI, the game will start to name them "Soldier 77", "Soldier 78", and so on.
 * Tracer can be heard saying "Keep calm and Tracer on" - a parody on the Carry On poster designed for WWII.
 * When Zarya states "In Russia, game plays you" - she's referencing a meme popularized by comedian Yakov Smirnoff in the 1980s.
 * Zenyatta's line "I think, therefore I am" is the English translation of "Cogito ergo sum": a famous philosophical proposition by French philosopher René Descartes.
 * Zenyatta's voice line: "I dreamt I was a butterfly" is a reference to Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream.
 * D.Va's voice line "Op op op d.va style" is a reference to the "Gangnam style" performed by her South Korean compatriot Psy.
 * Widowmaker's voice line "Let them eat cake" is a reference to a quote famously misattributed to Marie-Antoinette, the last Queen of France prior to the French Revolution; In truth, however, Marie Antoinette said no such thing, and was actually quite well-informed of the situations that led to her death.
 * The spray "Jail" has the captions "GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL". This is a reference to the popular board game Monopoly.
 * Torbjörn's voice line "Some assembly required". Is a reference to the Swedish furniture store Ikea's products always having to be made from scratch. This reference also appears in his "Uppgradera" & "Kanon" Sprays, which mimic the style of Ikea's instruction manuals for assembling Ikea products.
 * Zenyatta's voice line "Hello world!" is a reference to the tradition of example computer programs that print "hello world", started by the BASIC programming language.
 * Zenyatta's name, when paired with that of Tekhartha Mondatta, may be a reference to the album Zenyatta Mondatta by rock band The Police.
 * Lúcio's Final Blow Elimination line "That was the sound of silence." is possibly a reference to the song "The Sound of Silence" by musician duo Simon and Garfunkel.
 * Lúcio's Sniper Sighted line "Look out, sniper, check your head!" may be a reference to The Beastie Boys rap album "Check Your Head".
 * Lúcio's Final Blow Elimination line "When the music hits, you feel no pain." is a reference to musician Bob Marley's quote "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."
 * Genji's voice line "Measure twice, cut once" is a figurative phrase meaning to think carefully before taking action. It is often taken literally within carpentry as a general rule-of-thumb, to always double check your measurements before cutting wood.
 * Junkrat's voice line "Stop me if you've heard this one before" is a reference to a song of the same name by The Smiths.
 * McCree's voice line "Back in the saddle again" is a reference to the song "Back in The Saddle" by Aerosmith.
 * Doomfist's voice line "So mean I make medicine sick" is a quote attributed to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, first said during a press conference leading up to the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight against George Foreman.
 * Doomfist's spray "The Greatest" is a reference to the iconic photo of Muhammad Ali, where he knocks out Sonny Liston
 * Symmetra's animation when she creates her photon barrier has her making a "frame" with her fingers, then expanding it to enlarge the wall. This is very similar to the way Jade Harley, in the popular webcomic Homestuck, uses her powers.
 * Zarya's Summer Games voice line "It's only a game, why do you have to be mad?" is a reference to a 2007 interview with Russian ice hockey goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, in response to a Canadian journalist's question regarding a controversial player transfer.
 * Brigitte's Summer Games voice line "Dare to Lindholm" is a reference to Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who ran a marketing campaign with Nike called "Dare to Zlatan".


 * Echo's "Butterfly" spray is a reference to the butterfly man meme.
 * Echo's "Echomorph" spray is a reference to the book series "Animorphs"
 * Lúcio's quote "Pump up the volume" could be a reference to the song by M/A/R/R/S "Pump up the Volume"
 * Moira's Glam and Moon skins could be a refrence to David Bowie's Aladdin Sane's album cover