Activision Blizzard is responsible for some of the most beloved gaming franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. As a result, the company, which is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, was well represented at Fan Expo Canada 2022. The event took place from Aug. 25 through Aug. 28 in Toronto.
Gamers appreciate that the expo gives them the opportunity to meet the men and women who give voice to their favorite video game characters. For example, Chloe Hollings is famous for voicing the Widowmaker character in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch franchise. The French Australian voice actress has always portrayed the deadly sniper in English and French. Hollings can be heard in Overwatch animated short films and the Overwatch 2 sequel.
“It’s such a gift,” Hollings said. “There has never been a time in my life where I felt I would get so lucky as to be able to travel the world and go to all of these cities and countries and meet the people who play the game, which makes such a difference for voice actors, especially because it is a very solitary art.”
Breathing Life Into Video Game Characters
Hollings said seeing how players are affected by the game “means the world” to her. “Each character has such a deep backstory and [is] so complex,” she explained at the expo. “So it leaves a lot of room to talk about their story, and I find that most people relate to Widowmaker in a very intimate way because they have gone through similar things that she has gone through as well. I mean differently, of course, because no one gets kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming the world’s best sniper. But her story of loss, her story of not allowing herself to have any emotions, being a fighter, having to be strong, I think a lot of people relate to that.”
And she is thrilled to contribute to Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch community. “It is always a pleasure as an actor and an artist when you can combine making a living to something that respects your values, and this totally does, so that is great,” said Hollings.
She’s glad that video games like the ones Activision has been developing and publishing for decades can fill a void in someone’s life. “As much as I am happy that Overwatch exists, why do we need Overwatch this much?” the voice actor pondered. “‘Community’ used to have another meaning. So it is great that we have this, and also I am like, where have our physical communities gone, you know?”
Carolina Ravassa is another voice actor for the Activision Blizzard first-person multiplayer shooter game. The Colombian performer gives a voice to Sombra in the Overwatch franchise. “It wasn’t a conscious choice to do video games [but] I wanted to do cartoons as a kid,“ she shared at Dutch Comic Con 2022. “And all of a sudden, the video games started happening. With time I got better at it.”
Regarding voicing a character like Sombra, she said, “You have to craft the character very carefully. We get to use our imagination a lot more [than when acting on camera].”
Fan Expo Hosted Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty Esports Tournament
Esports was a hot topic at Fan Expo Canada 2022. It hosted tournaments for the finals of Rocket League, Valorant, and the Call of Duty League. Winners received more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. The victors were also invited to attend any North American DreamHack festival in 2023.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is a big believer in esports. “Hundreds of thousands of people are capable of playing professional video games,” Kotick has said. “It is a real growth opportunity for people. And [Activision Blizzard] is seeing an explosion of interest in the spectator component of it.”
