Overwatch is shedding its sequel branding and entering a new era. On February 10, the game officially becomes just "Overwatch" as Blizzard rolls out what it calls the biggest content drop in the franchise's history. The shift marks a deliberate reset—Season 1 replaces what would have been Season 21—and signals the studio's commitment to delivering the narrative-driven experience it promised years ago.
The immediate centerpiece is five new playable heroes launching simultaneously, something Blizzard has rarely done. Domina (Tank), Emre (Damage), Mizuki (Support), Anran (Damage), and Jetpack Cat (Support) form a complete team composition split between the rival Overwatch and Talon factions. Five additional heroes will roll out across the remaining seasons, bringing the total roster to 55 by year's end.
The five launch heroes and their roles
Domina is the first true poke tank since Sigma. The Vishkar Industries executive wields a medium-range beam weapon that culminates in high-impact shots, paired with a segmented hard-light barrier that forces enemies to destroy each piece individually. Her abilities include explosive crystals, sonic repulsors that stun enemies against walls, and an ultimate that imprisons foes in a detonating barrier. Her passive restores shields whenever she deals ability damage.
Emre, a former Overwatch operative now aligned with Talon, brings a run-and-gun playstyle. He fires three-round bursts with a zoom option, wields a life-stealing semi-automatic pistol as a temporary ability, and throws bouncing grenades. His ultimate transforms him into a living weapon that fires rapid explosive blasts or charged mega-shots capable of wiping entire teams. His passive health regeneration activates faster and restores 30 health instantly when triggered.
Mizuki from the Hashimoto clan functions as Talon's support. His spinning blade primary weapon bounces off walls and damages enemies on impact. The Healing Kasa—his signature ability—throws his hat to heal allies, bouncing between nearby teammates and returning to heal him. He can leap forward leaving a paper doll behind, then reactivate to return with a movement speed boost. A tethering chain hinders the first enemy hit. His ultimate creates a sanctuary that heals allies and absorbs incoming projectiles from outside the protected area.
Anran, the older sister of the existing hero Wuyang, harnesses fire-based attacks. Her hand fans shoot fiery projectiles, and a secondary hot wind blast amplifies burning damage. Inferno Rush propels her forward while damaging enemies, and Dancing Blaze lets her strike nearby foes while dodging all damage. She has two ultimates: Vermillion Ascent charges forward and explodes on impact, instantly igniting enemies, while Vermillion Revival revives her in a fiery explosion when dead. Her passive ignites enemies hit by fire attacks. Anran becomes available early through a Hero Trial starting February 5.
Jetpack Cat, finally arriving after nearly a decade of community requests, is a flying support hero. Her biotic projectiles heal allies and damage enemies at mid-range. Lifeline toggles transport mode, allowing her to tow an ally while increasing movement speed and healing them. Frenetic Flight accelerates her in any direction, though fuel recovery slows while carrying another player. Purr creates a pulsing area heal that increases in frequency and knocks back nearby enemies. Her ultimate dives toward a ground location, knocking down enemies and tethering the nearest one to her. Her passive grants permanent flight.
The Reign of Talon story and Conquest meta event
The new narrative framework, called The Reign of Talon, unfolds across six seasons with a defined beginning, middle, and end. A cinematic kicks things off with Vendetta overthrowing Doomfist to claim leadership of the Talon organization. The story unfolds through motion comics, in-game events, new voice lines, animated hero trailers, and short stories, with maps and environments updating in real time to reflect the unfolding conflict.
The Conquest meta event runs for five weeks during Season 1, allowing players to pledge allegiance to either Overwatch or Talon. Weekly missions tied to the lore reward the faction with the most successful completions. Players can switch sides after finishing each week's faction pass. Rewards include 75 base loot boxes, 12 epic loot boxes, 7 legendary loot boxes, 9 new voice lines, 31 cosmetics, 2 weapon charms, and one of two faction-themed Legendary Echo skins. Exclusive titles in rare, epic, and legendary rarities also unlock, including a hidden one.
Hero sub-roles and new role passives
Tanks now split into three sub-roles. Bruisers reduce critical damage received and gain movement speed at low health. Initiators heal lightly while airborne. Stalwarts reduce knockback and slow effects. Damage heroes divide into Sharpshooters (critical hits reduce movement ability cooldowns), Flankers (health packs restore more health), Specialists (eliminating enemies briefly increases reload speed), and Recon heroes (detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them). Support heroes become Tacticians (excess ultimate charge carries over after using ultimate), Medics (healing allies with weapons also heals you), or Survivors (movement abilities activate passive health regeneration).
UI overhaul and system updates
The largest menu redesign in franchise history arrives with Season 1. The lobby, play cards, navigation, hero gallery, and social panel all receive visual and functional updates. A new 3D lobby displays the selected hero, expanding to show all group members in Season 4. A Notification Hub consolidates important updates, reducing menu friction.
New gameplay features include a Praise system that lets players use hero voice lines to provide positive feedback during matches. Post-Match Accolades return with full 3D hero models replacing the old card system, highlighting key moments with multi-endorsements and Heroic Endorsements. Sound and music controls now work in the lobby, letting players manage audio independently while multitasking. Future updates will improve map voting, hero bans, and Drives.
Cosmetics, collaborations, and competitive changes
A Hello Kitty & Friends collaboration runs from February 10–23, introducing six themed skins. Juno becomes Hello Kitty, Kiriko transforms into Cinnamoroll, Mercy suits up as Pompompurin, D.Va becomes My Melody, Widowmaker takes on Kuromi, and Lucio appears as Keroppi. Season 1 also features faction-themed skins, Valentine's Day outfits, and Rainy Day cosmetics. The loot box pool refreshes to include skins from the last six seasons, excluding collaborations and Mythic variants.
Mythic cosmetics arrive twice per season. Season 1 introduces Mercy's second Mythic skin (Celestial Guardian) and Juno's Mythic weapon (Star Shooter). Mei receives her first Mythic skin mid-season. Future Mythic hero skins target Soldier: 76, Illari, and Mauga, with weapon skins planned for Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn.
Competitive play resets for a new competitive year. The Crimson Wolf weapon variant honors Talon's new leader, and players reaching Diamond or higher earn a new Doomfist skin. Competitive titles now have rarity tiers, and Top 500 finishers receive dynamic titles. Title updates arrive in Season 2 due to polish requirements.
Stadium mode updates and Nintendo Switch 2 support
Stadium, the build-crafting mode, gains Vendetta as a playable character and faster competitive rounds running 1/2/4/6 power progression instead of the previous pace. All 70 Armory item icons receive redesigns to better match their fantasy—the Aerial Distresser now looks like a flying drone, and Amari's Antidote clearly resembles an injector.
The new Hero Builder recommends builds based on worldwide player data. Round one offers three popular starter packs combining a power with three items in a single click. Rounds 2–7 suggest counter-builds to help adapt against the enemy team while letting players continue their current setup.
Overwatch arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 in Season 2, providing a native version optimized for the new hardware after years of technical limitations on the original Switch.
Esports and competitive integration
The Overwatch Champions Series begins this weekend with a Bootcamp in Seoul, followed by Opening Weekend on March 21 and a World Finals in China. The Overwatch World Cup returns with regional qualifiers leading to the main event at BlizzCon in September. A new Esports Loot Box lets players earn historic Overwatch esports skins by watching select broadcasts, including the February 13–15 Bootcamp.
Open Qualifier registration for the OWCS runs until February 20 through FaceIt. Overwatch Esports now integrates with Top 500, awarding FaceIt event invitations based on Challenger scores, expanding competitive pathways beyond traditional ranked play.
