Baptiste voice actor explains how to pronounce his Overwatch hero’s name

The voice actor for Overwatch’s latest hero Baptiste, Benz Antoine, has weighed in regarding how his hero’s name is supposed to be pronounced.

Full name Jean-Baptiste Augustin, Baptiste was first revealed as Overwatch’s 30 hero on February 25, and arrived in the live servers on March 19.

Baptiste is a Hatian native who previously worked with Talon as a combat medic, and has since struck out on his own in an effort to do good in the world. Unlike some new heroes, such as Doomfist, or Wrecking Ball pilot Hammond, no mention had been made of Baptiste prior to his name first appearing in one of the teasers for the new hero.

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A new hero always becomes the most talked-about topic in the Overwatch community, but this had led to discussion regarding exactly how Baptiste’s name should be said.

The main confusion has been between whether or not the “p” in “Baptiste” is supposed to be silent. English speakers often pronounce the name as it appears, but Jean-Baptiste Augustin is a French name, and the French pronunciation omits the “p”.

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According to Antoine, however, there is no “correct” way to pronounce the name. Although much of the video consists of somewhat tongue-in-cheek examples of how he approves of almost any variant, Antoine does say that his own pronunciation of the name can change depending on whether he’s speaking English or French.

Baptiste isn’t the only hero making an appearance in the video, however, as it also features cameos from other Overwatch voice actors, including the actors for Sombra, Zenyatta, and Symmetra.

Baptiste isn’t the first new hero whose name has caused some confusion regarding its pronunciation – although in the case of Brigitte, voice actor Matilda Smedius had a more specific recommendation for how the name should be said.

For many of the game’s voice actors, joining the cast of Overwatch brought a spotlight unlike anything they’d previously experienced, and for Antoine it’s been no different. He revealed that playing Baptiste had already changed his life significantly before the character had even arrived in-game.

Baptiste’s character has yet to be explored in much depth beyond his original introduction, but with the next Archives in-game event, Storm Rising, taking place in Havana, Cuba – not far from where Baptiste was known to be hiding out in his home country of Haiti – it’s possible he could very soon have a role to play in the larger Overwatch story.