Maugaloa Malosi, more commonly referred to as Mauga, is a character who first appeared in the 2023 video game Overwatch 2, a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person hero shooter. Originally introduced in a 2018 short story for the franchise, he was intended to be included in the first Overwatch, but due to complications his in-game debut was delayed twice. Mauga is a large Samoan mercenary associated with the terrorist group Talon, along with fellow member Baptiste, armed with twin chain guns he has named "Cha Cha" and "Gunny". He is voiced by John Tui.

Since his debut in short story media related to the franchise, fans have been anticipating the character's introduction, theorizing how he could play and expressing confusion through memes in response to his absence. His personality has received praise for how it contrasts to other members of Talon, being cheerful where many of them are portrayed as brooding. Mauga has received comparisons to other characters, such as Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2 but also Maui from the film Moana, the latter being due to their close resemblance in heritage and body shape. This later comparison however resulted in whether or not it could be seen as cultural stereotyping, especially in light of Mauga directly referencing some of Maui's dialogue.

Conception and development

Mauga was created by writer Alyssa Wong for the Blizzard Entertainment game Overwatch. Wong stated on social media website Twitter that they designed him from the ground up, and that he was codenamed "Kielbasa" in early development to deter dataminers. Design notes described Mauga a large, broad-shouldered man with a similarly large smile, and a streak of white running through his hair "like a lightning strike". Mauga first appeared in Wong's 2018 short story tie-in to the game titled "What You Left Behind", written by Wong and illustrated by concept artist Arnold Tsang. Tsang stated the story was conceived to help flesh out the character of Baptiste, who at that point in the game had little ties to other characters.

While Overwatch lead writer stated Mauga's introduction into the game was meant to coincide with his release, according to game designer Joshua Noh, they found the intended gameplay they developed didn't fit the personality or skills they had established for him. As a result, another character was designed and released, Sigma, to utilize the intended concept. The COVID-19 pandemic further delayed his release, and though he was planned to be included as part of Overwatch 2's launch cast, his introduction was replaced with the more complete character Ramattra to give the developers more time to finish his character.

For his in-game appearance in Overwatch 2, Mauga was designed by concept artist Qiu Fang. According to art director Dion Rogers, they wanted to add characters that people would want to be, and felt that a Samoan would fit the character design they were looking for, a large figure that moved slower but had significant firepower. To this end, significant research was done on Samoans and Polynesians to ensure the right look. Significant planning went into his fighting style, which they chose to base off his smart and aggressive personality. In his initial appearance, Mauga was armed two chain guns. They chose to keep this aspect, feeling giant guns best represented "this Giant of a man". The guns themselves, nicknamed "Cha Cha" and "Gunny", ended up the largest weapons in Overwatch 2 at that point, and went through several iterations to ensure they fit his size and scale.

Mauga is voiced by John Tui, who was chosen out of a wide group immediately after auditioning for the role. The development team praised Tui for bringing the character's personality to life, with narrative designer Kyungseo Min stating his "cheerful and boisterous voice embodied the character they were looking for". Others in the development team offered similar praise, feeling he helped emphasize Mauga's joyous but dark edge. Some of Mauga's lines are voiced in Samoan; the development team was pleasantly surprised that shortly after the character's reveal, fans took to reddit to explain what they meant, something they had not expected.

Character design

Standing over 7 ft (213 cm) tall, Mauga is a tanned, very broad and muscular man with long black hair that has a shock of white above his upper-left brow, and a thin black beard covering his lower jaw. Tattoos cover his torso an arms, save for his stomach. Orange and silver metal plates rest on his pectorals, upper abdomen, and biceps. His outfit consists of a white headbang, gold earrings, and fingerless sleeved gloves with plated knuckles. Mauga is shirtless, which his lower body covered by matching set of brown pants, boots, and a belt. Orange armor plating covers his lower legs and knees, as well as the sides of his hips and waist.

Mauga's tattoos went through several iterations. While his early design showed him with Polynesian-inspired tattoos, after reviewing it with a cultural consultant, they found they weren't authentic to Samoan culture. They reached out to tattoo artist Si'I Liafau, a master in traditional Samoan tattoos, who worked directly with the art team. This resulted in a back-and-forth between them, as each submitted their own designs to the other but had to ensure that while authentic, the tattoos could work within the constraints of the character model.

Like other Overwatch characters, Mauga received skins, unlockable cosmetic items to change his in-game appearance. In particular, his "Magma" skin gives him a lava-themed body with black stone armor bits covering it all over, while a red loincloth dangles in the front. By constract, "Bonesplitter" was designed to fit into the theme of the game's "Beast Hunter" event, removing his tattoos and giving him bone armor around his feet, lower legs, and shoulders, while a five o'clock shadow covers his lower face. Meanwhile, as part of a collaboration between Blizzard and the creators of the anime Cowboy Bebop, Mauga received a skin based on its character Jet Black. Kotaku writer Kenneth Shepard expressed surprise at the decision, feeling that the character Doomfist with his robotic arm would have made a better fit.

Appearances

Mauga, full name Maugaloa Malosi (meaning mountain), is a Samoan mercenary and a close companion of Baptiste. As a video game character, he appears in Overwatch 2, where it is established that after he was wounded in a gunfight, he was augmented with an additional cybernetic heart, while his original heart was enhanced. As a member of the terrorist group Talon, he became friends fellow character Baptiste after the latter saved his life. After Talon is taken over by the villain Vendetta, Mauga is tasked with heading to Australia to recruit the help of Junkertown's ruler, Junker Queen. Outside of Overwatch, Mauga also appears in the updated dating sim game Loverwatch, exclusive to Chinese regions.

Mauga's introduction in the short story "What You Left Behind" established early details regarding the character. A giant of a man, Mauga befriended Baptiste in his early days in the Talon organization. Baptiste, in turn, became one of the few people to be able to try to calm Mauga's wild tendencies. By the story's conclusion however, after Baptiste decides to save a target he and Mauga are chasing instead of killing them, the two men come to blows, with Baptiste barely surviving. Mauga later appeared in the animated short A Great Day, helping fellow Talon members Sombra and Reaper retrieve an item for their organization, but not without some difficulty.

Gameplay

In Overwatch, Mauga is classified as a Tank-class character, designed to absorb large amounts of damage from the enemy team in team compositions while protecting their teammates. His primary fire is the chain gun Gunny, which can set opponents on fire with subsequent hits, while his secondary is Cha-Cha, which deals critical damage to enemies that are on fire. Both guns can be fired simultaneously. Meanwhile, his passive ability, "Berserker", gives him temporary additional health when his attacks cause a critical hit.

In addition, he has two abilities that require activation, though have a "cooldown" period after use and are unable to be used again during that duration. "Overrun" causes him to charge forward, and ends with an area-of-effect stomp attack. This attack cannot be cancelled once started, and while player cannot fire weapons in this state they take reduced damage. Meanwhile, "Cardiac Overdrive" allows him to heal while damaging enemies for a period of time, and allows nearby allies the same benefit. Lastly his Ultimate ability, "Cage Match", needs to be charged before use. The ability charges slowly during the course of gameplay, and can be charged faster through damage dealt to the enemy team. Once full, the ability can be activated to create a force field where both Mauga and enemies trapped inside cannot leave for a period of time. While inside the force field, Mauga's chain guns have infinite ammunition.

Promotion and reception

Mauga was introduced during the November 2023 BlizzCon and was available for free play that weekend prior to being available as part the December 2023 update. The trial during BlizzCon was intended to test Mauga's survivability in a more raw environment, allowing for adjustments by the time of release.

Prior to this release as a playable character, Magua's appearance in the "What You Left Behind" short story led many anticipate his inclusion. Danny Paez in an article for Inverse theorized his role in the game and abilities, feeling that his depiction as a hot-headed berserker fit the Tank archetype well. While he reasoned the character could also fit the Damage role, he pointed out the overabundance of characters classified as such, and expressed that another would further unbalance Overwatch's gameplay. Years later after Ramattra was added to the game, many fans took to social media to express their dismay that Mauga had not been implemented, despite Blizzard giving no indication that the character would be included at that time.

The short A Great Day was well received, in particular for how well it portrayed its cast, with Cass Marshall of Polygon enjoying Sombra's frustrations with Mauga for being a loose cannon despite her own secret agenda. Kenneth Shepard of Kotaku enjoyed his characterization in it, describing him as a "giant, often bombastic tank" and stating that despite the trouble he causes, he managed to complete the job. While he praised the team dynamics of Talon and admitted it was a side of Overwatch's story not often seen, Mauga was a standout due to being enigmatic, but having a boisterous nature that contrasted well against organization's broodier members. He added that while Mauga was an oddball and not a fit for everyone, the story illustrated him as capable.

Jeffery Rousseau in an article for gamesindustry.biz cited Mauga as a rarity in mainstream gaming, both as a Samoan and a character from the Oceania region. Rick Lane of PC Gamer meanwhile felt that Mauga's heavily resembled the depiction of the Samoan deity Maui in the Disney animated film Moana, and this correlation was furthered by the fact that several of his lines seemed to reference that character's dialogue directly. Fans also noticed the similarity, with Lane observing that while some enjoyed the reference, it was a contentious topic for others who argued back and forth whether it was an example of cultural stereotyping. Esports.gg writer Will Jagielski-Harrison posited that there was a cultural "expectation" that Samoan characters look a certain way, naming performers of Samoan heritage being heavily involved in the pro wrestling scene. Along with Maui, Jagielski-Harrison identified Mr. T as another example of this phenomenon.

Other media outlets compared Mauga to a different character, the Heavy Weapons Guy from Valve's Team Fortress 2. ShackNews writer Ozzie Mejia expressed that due to his bulky frame and use of miniguns, Mauga resembled the character more than he did Maui, but also felt that this comparison extended beyond just visual similarities. Pointing to the amount of damage Mauga could do, he also noted that similar to the Heavy, he was a character that encouraged an aggressive playstyle, but was mainly reliant on healing from supports to maintain it.

Amy Chen for esports.gg examined Mauga and Baptiste's relationship, describing them as compelling characters in how through them the Overwatch writing team showed how Talon preys on the disenfranchised. To her, Mauga was someone shaped by violence and trauma, and more acclimated to Talon's worldview, while by Baptiste represented hope and redemption as well as the belief anyone can make a difference. She saw this as a strength of the series' storytelling in how it gave even its villians nuance, while allowing fans enough room to supply their own interpretations and understandings of the characters.