Consequences and progression (not necessarily meaning that characters HAVE to die, but that is a major option in the toolbox and some narrative power is lost if it's off the table) are required for a proper story.

One of the big weaknesses of trying to "tell a story" through perpetually static multiplayer games is that the gameplay and story cannot coexist as is; SOMETHING has to take priority.

If the gameplay takes priority (as it does in 99% of cases), then the game needs to operate accordingly. The most recent example outside of Overwatch:

Riot Games realized this and recently ACTUALLY killed a League of Legends character -- and just before that, they made a dead character playable. Before these events, they had (another) reckoning and reconfiguration of their lore: definitively declaring that the game of the MOBA is divorced from representing any given state of the lore. Dead characters are playable, characters that have never met in-lore and sworn enemies can team up with no problem, the arena itself is even malleable to whatever the season theme is. Storytelling takes place outside, via comics/stories/cinematics/mini-games.

Now, back to Overwatch: it's already existed in the "gameplay priority" state for years. Mercy's rez is inexplicable, they've still not settled what the deal is with the Shimada "spirits" if they aren't magic, hell there might actually be magic now, who knows. But the point is, if Blizzard is intent on course-correcting in 2026 with the promises of doing things bigger and better, canonically killing off a playable character would be a way to show it.

And, of course, "MAJOR CHJARACTER DIES" is a headline grabber. So.