The Lindholm family cat has finally made its official Overwatch debut. Not as a playable character, but as a companion in Brigitte’s most recent emote. The Swedish furry friend, colloquially known as “Jetpack Cat,” rose to fame after initially appearing in Brigitte’s origin story cinematic, and has since become a sensation in the community.
The original concept of Jetpack Cat goes back to an idea for an Overwatch hero scrapped early in development. During the concept art phase, the developer team came up with “this jetpack and it had this cat that laid in it, like a cat does,” according to a 2017 GameSpot interview with Jeff Kaplan. Concept art is a key part of defining a game’s look and feel, and the friendly feline helped the developers “test the boundaries” of what they wanted the game to look like. Ultimately, despite a scientist gorilla and a mech-piloting hamster, the developers dubbed Jetpack Cat “probably too far,” and scrapped it as a playable character.
Screencap courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
However, like heroes, Jetpack Cat will never die, and has appeared as an easter egg throughout Brigitte’s cosmetic inventory and lore. The fully-rendered feline is a bit of a chonker, nearly as tall as she is from nose to tail. Additionally, he appears thoroughly nonplussed at being picked up and snuggled by his human friend for any length of time.
The emote is available for 3000 in-game coins, the same cost as a legendary skin. This is similar to the original pricing of Orisa’s puppy emote which dropped during the Winter Wonderland 2018 event. However, for cat-lovers of all stripes out there, the grind may just be worth it.
The Overwatch Archives event runs through April 2.
Follow @thegamehaus on Facebook and Twitter for more stories like this. Follow London @pHydron_OW on Twitter for Overwatch and Dallas Fuel news and other semi-serious updates.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.