A company, Omnica Corporation, creates sentient robots called omnics, as a result of global research on artificial intelligence (AI). Technological advances over time lead to these omnics taking over many tasks, making life easier for the human population. Omnica later hires robotic prodigy Dr. Mina Liao to develop omnics further. These developments lead to the onset of the Omnic Crisis, a war between omnics and humans.

In response to the Omnic Crisis, a global task force called Overwatch is formed.