Overwatch 2026 Drops the “2” on Feb. 10 as Talon Arc Adds 10 New Heroes

Less than four years after its launch, Blizzard has retired the “2” from its hero shooter, returning the game to its original name and reframing it as a single, continuously evolving experience. The studio is not positioning this as a sequel, a reboot, or a reset, but as a permanent platform that will keep growing instead of being replaced.

In October 2022, Blizzard officially retired the original Overwatch and launched Overwatch 2 with high expectations. Players saw a move from 6v6 to 5v5, graphical improvements, and a few structural changes beyond that. Now, following the recent Overwatch Spotlight, the company has reversed course on the branding, prompting questions about timing and intent.

Those questions were addressed during a press conference at Blizzard Entertainment, which MeriStation attended. President Johanna Faries explained that internal conversations about returning to Season 1 naturally led to dropping the sequel label as well. According to her, the response across teams was unanimous.

“We think this is the right time for Overwatch as a universe to turn a corner in a big way,” Faries said. She added that Blizzard views Overwatch as “a timeless game” that is “not limited to chronology” or “number structures,” and that the rename opens conversations about the future of its characters and universe.

Walter Kong, senior vice president of development and former Overwatch manager, framed the change historically. Recalling the game’s early pitch, launch, and ups and downs, he described the rename as “a return to form” at a time when Overwatch is in a healthy state.

Game director Aaron Keller then tied the decision directly to Blizzard’s long-term strategy. He said the studio sees Overwatch as a “forever game” and does not want players wondering when it will be replaced. Removing the “2” in his view signals that Overwatch is meant to continue indefinitely.

“We don’t want the name change to just be a marketing beat for people,” Keller told GameSpot. “We want to let players know, ‘Okay, here’s the core of the game. This is our vision for it.’”

Starting with The Reign of Talon, Season 1 on February 10, Overwatch will operate in year-long narrative arcs, each divided into roughly six seasons. Each season will include story-driven limited-time events, and the world will evolve alongside them.

Associate game director Alec Dawson said Blizzard intends to stay “in lockstep with what’s going on with the story throughout the year.” Heroes, maps, dialogue, and visual art will change as the narrative progresses. Supplemental storytelling—including comic books, short stories, animated features, motion comics, and hero trailers—will continue, but a new in-game Story tab will gather everything in one place instead of sending players to external sources.

Blizzard describes this as the first time in Overwatch history that it is telling a fully connected story across an entire year. The arc is structured with a clear beginning, middle, and end from Season 1 through Season 6, before a new Season 1 launches in 2027. Each year will bring updates that expand both gameplay and narrative.

Keller said the team feels ready for this approach because the core game is finally stable. After years spent refining competitive PvP, he believes Overwatch is in its best state yet.

“We even hear from players like, ‘Hey, Overwatch is in the best state it’s ever been in.’ But that’s just step one,” Keller said. “Now we feel like we’ve earned the right to go big, and that’s what we’re doing with Season 1. We’re going as big as we can.”

He also acknowledged past mistakes, saying the team took “some missteps” and chose to change strategy by returning to Overwatch’s central story. When asked whether this made Blizzard appear indecisive, Keller called that a “valid potential criticism” but said doing what is right for the game matters more than perception.

The first narrative arc, The Reign of Talon, begins from the villains’ perspective. Newcomer Vendetta overthrows Doomfist by severing his arm and pushing him through a window, presumably killing him off-screen. Despite internal doubts about her leadership, she quickly strengthens Talon, recruits three new allies, and expands its influence.

This darker opening contrasts with Overwatch’s traditionally optimistic tone. Keller said that was intentional.

“It’s not going to be dark the whole year. This is a future worth fighting for,” he said. “Overwatch is about a hopeful, brighter future and we want to return to that, but this is a really cool way to start it.”

When the interviewer remarked that “you can’t notice the light without it first being dark,” Keller replied simply, “Exactly.”

Doomfist’s role in the story also responds to long-running player criticism. Keller said many fans feel Doomfist never truly earned his place at the head of Talon.

“He’s been there, but we haven’t really seen him do anything really cool or monumental,” Keller said. “So from my point of view, we either have to get rid of him, or he has to do something that makes players believe that he’s the rightful leader.”

Even so, Blizzard has no plans to remove any heroes from the roster. Dawson confirmed that story events will not determine whether characters remain playable.

Alongside this narrative overhaul, Blizzard is introducing 10 new heroes throughout the year. From Season 2 through Season 6, one new hero will arrive each season. Season 1 launches with five heroes on February 10: Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat.

Dawson explained that Blizzard is deliberately going deeper into existing factions and relationships instead of creating characters “out of thin air.” He cited Mizuki as a way to explore more of Kiriko’s world in Kanezaka, Domina’s ties to Vishkar, and Emre’s long-running presence in Overwatch lore.

Emre represents a failure of Overwatch’s ideals, while Mizuki belongs to the group that murdered Genji and Hanzo’s father, setting up tension with multiple heroes. Blizzard’s narrative team has already recorded over 800,000 voice lines, ensuring extensive character interaction throughout the year.

The first five heroes arrive, split between Talon and Overwatch.

On the Talon side, Domina (Tank) is the heiress and vice president of Vishkar Industries. Though not formally a Talon member, she partners with Vendetta in exchange for redevelopment rights over Talon-controlled territories. She is described as the first true “poke tank” since Sigma, using long-range hard-light technology.

Her kit includes:

• Photon Magnum, a medium-range beam ending in a high-impact shot
• Barrier Array, a segmented shield that can be broken piece by piece
• Crystal Charge, an explosive crystal that can be detonated remotely
• Sonic Repulsors, which push enemies back and stun them against walls
• Panopticon, her ultimate, which traps enemies in a barrier that later explodes
• Reconstruction, a passive that restores shields when she deals ability damage

Emre (Damage) is a former Overwatch Strike Team member who left after losing faith in the organization. Tracked down by Freja, he was discovered to have cybernetic modifications and a conflicted mental state. Now aligned with Vendetta, he plays as a fast, aggressive damage dealer.

His abilities include:

• Synthetic Burst Rifle, a three-round burst weapon
• Take Aim, which tightens accuracy and extends falloff range
• Siphon Blaster, a temporary life-stealing pistol that boosts speed and jump height
• Cyber Frag, a bouncing grenade
• Override Protocol, an ultimate that transforms him into a rapid-fire, explosive attacker
• Altered Vitals, a passive that triggers health regeneration sooner and instantly restores 30 health

Mizuki (Support) belongs to the Hashimoto clan, which is aligned with Talon. Despite doubts about his place within the clan, he has become a key figure under senior influence. He has been tasked with infiltrating the Yokai near Kanezaka, though some fear he may be swayed toward Overwatch.

His kit includes:

• Spirit Glaive, a bouncing blade
• Healing Kasa, a hat that heals allies and returns to heal him
• Katashiro Return, a leap that leaves behind a paper doll for teleportation
• Binding Chain, which hinders the first enemy hit
• Kekkai Sanctuary, an ultimate that heals allies and blocks incoming projectiles
• Remedy Aura, a passive area heal that scales with damage and healing output

On the Overwatch side, Anran (Damage) joins as Wuyang’s older sister and a fire-based fighter. Confident and disciplined, she aims to save the world while keeping her brother out of trouble.

Her abilities include:

• Zhuque Fans, fiery projectiles
• Fan the Flames, which amplifies burning damage
• Inferno Rush, a damaging dash
• Dancing Blaze, which strikes enemies while dodging damage
• Vermillion Ascent (Alive), an explosive charge that ignites foes
• Vermillion Revival (Dead), which revives her in a fiery blast
• Ignition, a passive that applies burn on fire hits

Players can try Anran early through a Hero Trial beginning February 5.

Finally, Jetpack Cat (Support) arrives as a stray from Gibraltar with permanent flight. Her kit includes:

• Biotic Pawjectiles, which both heal and damage
• Lifeline, a towing mode that heals an ally while moving
• Frenetic Flight, a burst of speed with slower fuel recovery when carrying someone
• Purr, a pulsing area heal that knocks back enemies
• Catnapper, an ultimate that dives, knocks down enemies, and tethers one target

Alongside new heroes, Blizzard is introducing subroles and passives for all characters on February 10.

Tanks are divided into:

• Bruisers (Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya), who take reduced critical damage and gain speed at low health
• Initiators (D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball), who heal slightly while airborne
• Stalwarts (Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma), who resist knockbacks and slows

Damage heroes fall into:

• Sharpshooters (Ashe, Cassidy, Hanzo, Sojourn, Widowmaker), whose critical hits reduce movement cooldowns
• Flankers (Anran, Genji, Reaper, Tracer, Vendetta, Venture), who receive more healing from health packs
• Specialists (Bastion, Emre, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, Torbjorn), who reload faster after eliminations
• Recon (Echo, Freja, Pharah, Sombra), who can see enemies below half health through walls after damaging them

Supports are grouped as:

• Tacticians (Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat, Lucio, Zenyatta), who can carry excess ultimate charge
• Medics (Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira), who heal themselves when healing allies
• Survivors (Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang), who regenerate health after using movement abilities

Keller warned that these changes will disrupt balance, but said top players adapt within days.

Season 1 also introduces Conquest, a five-week event where players pledge allegiance to either Overwatch or Talon. Each week includes lore-based missions, with rewards given to the winning faction. Players may switch sides once per week after completing their faction pass.

Rewards include:

• 75 Base Lootboxes
• 12 Epic Lootboxes
• 7 Legendary Lootboxes
• 9 new Voice Lines
• 31 2D Cosmetics
• 2 Weapon Charms
• 1 of 2 faction-themed Legendary Echo skins
• New Rare, Epic, Legendary, and one secret title

Season 1 also launches a new competitive year with a rank reset and the Crimson Wolf competitive weapon honoring Vendetta. Players who reach Diamond or higher receive a new Doomfist competitive skin. Competitive titles now have rarity tiers, and Top 500 players earn dynamic titles. Titles from Season 20 and Season 1 will be awarded in Season 2 after additional polish.

Blizzard is rolling out a comprehensive UI/UX refresh affecting the lobby, play cards, navigation, hero gallery, and social panel. A Notification Hub consolidates updates, and a new 3D lobby displays the selected hero in Season 1, expanding to full group display in Season 4.

UI lead Jay Bacuetes acknowledged the learning curve: “We’re asking you to make an adjustment to a behavior that you might have ingrained over 10 years, but the trade-off and the benefit is you get more out of it.”

Stadium is receiving redesigned visuals for 70 icons, including clearer representations for items like Aerial Distresser and Amari’s Antidote. A new Hero Builder recommends builds based on global player data. In round one, players see three one-click starter builds combining a power and three items; in rounds 2–7, they receive counter-build suggestions.

Competitive Stadium power rounds now run 1/2/4/6, creating a faster best-of-seven flow while preserving build depth. Vendetta also becomes playable in Stadium.

Blizzard is adding a Praise feature in Season 1, allowing players to send positive hero voice lines—recorded over the past 10 years—to teammates. New lobby audio controls make it easier to adjust sound when playing on a second monitor.

Later in the year, Post-Match Accolades return with full 3D hero models, including multi-endorsements and Heroic Endorsements. In Season 2, Overwatch launches on Nintendo Switch 2. Further updates are planned for map voting, hero bans, and Drives.

From February 10–23, Overwatch partners with Hello Kitty & Friends for a crossover featuring six skins:

• Juno as Hello Kitty
• Kiriko as Cinnamoroll
• Mercy as Pompompurin
• D.Va as My Melody
• Widowmaker as Kuromi
• Lucio as Keroppi

Season 1 also brings faction-themed skins, Rainy Day and Valentine bundles, and a lootbox refresh that adds regular shop skins from the last six seasons.

Every season this year includes two Mythic skins. Season 1 features Mercy’s Celestial Guardian and Juno’s Star Shooter, with Mei’s first Mythic arriving mid-season. Future Mythics are planned for Soldier: 76, Illari, Mauga, plus Mythic weapon skins for Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn.

On the esports front, the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) begins with a Bootcamp in Seoul, followed by Opening Weekend on March 21, and concludes with World Finals in China. The Overwatch World Cup returns with regional qualifiers leading to BlizzCon in September.

A new Esports Lootbox awards historic skins for watching broadcasts, including Bootcamp coverage from February 13–15. Open Qualifier registration runs until February 20, and Top 500 integration will grant FaceIt invitations based on Challenger scores.

Behind the scenes, senior producer Kenny Hudson said new heroes now take about four months to develop instead of eight, with similar improvements for maps and skins. When asked about generative AI, Keller said Blizzard is not comfortable showing AI-generated content to players.

“We don’t want to put AI-generated content out in front of players,” he said. “We want this to feel like a handcrafted universe, and it is a handcrafted universe.”

He added that AI remains a “moving space” shaped by player and societal views, meaning Blizzard will not set a permanent policy.

Keller also addressed concerns about over-promising, calling it his biggest worry. He said The Reign of Talon, Season 1, is “about as big as we can go in a season,” while acknowledging Blizzard’s tendency to pursue bold updates.

“Forever is obviously a long time—I can’t promise that the game’s going to be around for 10 or 100 years—but it would be really great if it was,” he said, stressing that Blizzard will continue to adapt to player expectations and industry change.

All of this funnels toward one clear starting point: Anran’s Hero Trial begins February 5, and The Reign of Talon, Season 1 launches February 10. From there, Blizzard plans to carry Overwatch through a connected year of story, gameplay, competition, and live service updates, under a single name meant to last.