When the Heroes of the Storm development team first designed Gazlowe (or Tinker, as he was initially called), the game was completely different than it is now. What heroes could do, how maps were designed, and how the game was "meant" to be played has changed dramatically over the years. So when Gazlowe was introduced into the title back in 2014, his kit worked well for the time period. He could split push lanes, clear mercenary camps efficiently and his team-fighting ability wasn't that bad. Fast forward to the year 2020 (and two reworks later), the development team felt it was time to give his kit another look after his most recent overhaul in 2017.
When Blizzard Entertainment first released Heroes of the Storm back in the spring of 2014, Gazlowe was a playable character. In the six years since his kit has been tweaked and reworked a few times (most recently in 2017). Despite having a personality and swagger entirely his own, his kit, while unique, never felt particularly impactful as the amount of setup required for him to be useful oftentimes wasn't worth the outcome.
When Overwatch's favorite gamer, D.Va, made her way into the nexus back in 2017, players of multiple Blizzard titles chomped at the bit to see how the Heroes of the Storm development team was able to turn this half-mech, half-girl into a MOBA champion while still maintaining her familiarity.