Blizzard Relaunches Overwatch with Five New Heroes

Blizzard Entertainment announced a sweeping overhaul for its hero shooter on Thursday during the Overwatch Spotlight 2026 event, dropping the "2" from the game's title and relaunching it as Overwatch with a new season beginning February 10. The update introduces five new playable heroes simultaneously, the largest such addition in the franchise's history, alongside a year-long narrative arc and numerous gameplay enhancements aimed at revitalizing the title.

The revamp resets the seasonal numbering, starting fresh with Season 1 titled "The Reign of Talon," which kicks off the annual storyline. Subsequent seasons will roll out every two months, concluding with Season 6 by year's end, before resetting again in 2027. The season launches at 11 a.m. Pacific Time on February 10 across all regions, with no anticipated server downtime based on previous updates. Players in major time zones can expect access at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, and corresponding local times in Europe, Asia, and Australia the following day.

At the forefront of the changes is an expanded roster, with the five new heroes debuting on launch day: Anran and Emre as damage dealers, Domina as a...