Blizzard has announced a major overhaul is coming to Overwatch with Season 1 beginning on February 10th, 2026; Overwatch 2 has been renamed to Overwatch, and ten new characters are on their way, along with new maps and a UI refresh.
You can learn all of the details below.
Season Roadmap:
The Reign of Talon (The Story):
The new narrative focused story will slowly evolve in real-time, with players seeing the changes while playing the game. This will be handled with both in-game events, new cinematics and hero trailers, short stories and comics, character voice lines and interactions, and a new fully integrated Narrative Viewer. The story will last for six seasons, with a new story arc set to begin in 2027. Maps will also be updated to reflect the current state of the world.
Season 1 Heroes (5 at Launch):
1. DOMINA — Tank (Talon‑aligned)
Heiress and vice president of Vishkar Industries. An elegant battlefield controller with long‑range precision and defensive zone control.
- Photon Magnum (Primary Fire) Medium-range beam that culminates in a high impact shot.
- Barrier Array A segmented hard‑light barrier deployed in front of Domina. Each segment must be individually destroyed, creating dynamic defensive angles.
- Crystal Charge Project an explosive crystal and reactivate to denotate it.
- Sonic Repulsors Push enemies back, stunning them if they hit a wall.
- Ultimate — Panopticon Fire a hard-light projectile that imprisons enemies and detonates on expiration.
- Passive – Reconstruction
- Dealing damage with abilities restores shields.
2. EMRE — Damage (Talon‑aligned)
Once a model Overwatch agent, now aligned with Talon. A fast‑paced, mobile soldier archetype with conflicting identity due to cybernetic modification.Passive health regeneration activates sooner and instantly restores 30 health when activated.
- Synthetic Burst Rifle (Primary Fire) Three-round burst weapon.
- Take Aim (Secondary Fire) Hold to zoom in, tightening accuracy and increasing fall off range.
- Siphon Blaster Temporarily wield a semi-automatic pistol with life stealing explosive rounds. Move faster and jump higher while wielded.
- Cyber Frag Throw a grenade that detonates shortly after bouncing.
- Ultimate — Override Protocol An override initiates, transforming you into a living weapon. Fires rapid explosive blasts or charged mega‑shots capable of wiping teams.
- Passive – Altered Vitals
3. MIZUKI — Support (Talon‑aligned)
Member of the Hashimoto clan, allies of Talon.Heals nearby allies. Healing scales with resource generated by dealing damage and healing.
- Spirit Glaive (Primary Fire) Throw a spinning blade that can bounce off walls, impacts enemies and deals damage.
- Healing Kasa Throw your hat to heal an ally, bouncing to nearby allies and healing you when it returns.
- Katashiro Return Leap forward, leaving behind a paper doll. Reactivate to return and gain increased movement speed while active.
- Binding Chain Launch a tethering chain that hinders the first enemy hit.
- Ultimate — Kekkai Sanctuary Create a sanctuary that heals allies and absorbs enemy projectiles from outside the area.
- Passive – Remedy Aura
4. ANRAN — Damage (Overwatch-aligned)
A high‑mobility assassin who manipulates fire. Hero Trial runs Feb 5 – 10!Hit enemies with fire attacks to burn them.
- Zhuque Fans (Primary Fire) Hand fans that shoot fiery projectiles.
- Fan the Flames (Secondary Fire) Hot wind blast that amplifies burning damage.
- Inferno Rush Propel yourself forward and damage enemies you impact.
- Dancing Blaze Strike nearby enemies while dodging all damage.
- Ultimate — Vermillion Ascent (Alive) Charge forward, exploding on impact and instantly igniting enemies.
- Ultimate — Vermillion Revival (Dead) When dead, revive yourself in a fiery explosion.
- Passive – Ignition
5. JETPACK CAT — Support (Overwatch-aligned)
A long‑teased hero delivering airborne ally‑transport utility.Passive – JetpackPermanent flight.
- Biotic Pawjectiles (Primary Fire) Mid‑range projectile spread that heals allies and damages enemies.
- LifelineToggle into transport mode, allowing an ally to be towed. Increases movement speed and heals your ally.
- Frenetic Flight Accelerate in your movement direction. Fuel recovery is slower while carrying another player.
- Purr Pulsing area heal that increases in frequency over time. Knockback nearby enemies when activated.
- Ultimate — Catnapper Dive towards a ground location, knocking down enemies and tethering the nearest one to you.
Roles:
The characters and their roles are as follows.
TANK
BRUISER: Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed.
Mauga / Orisa / Roadhog / Zarya
INITIATOR: Staying airborne lightly heals you.
D.Va / Doomfist / Winston / Wrecking Ball
STALWART: Reduces knockbacks and slows received.
Domina / Hazard / Junker Queen / Ramattra / Reinhardt / Sigma
DAMAGE
SHARPSHOOTER: Critical hits reduce your movement ability cooldowns.
Ashe / Cassidy / Hanzo / Sojourn / Widowmaker
FLANKER: Health packs restore more health.
Anran / Genji / Reaper / Tracer / Vendetta / Venture
SPECIALIST: Eliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed.
Bastion / Emre / Junkrat / Mei / Soldier: 76 / Symmetra / Torbjorn
RECON: You detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them.
Echo / Freja / Pharah / Sombra
SUPPORT
TACTICIAN: You can gain excess ultimate charge which carries over after using your ultimate ability.
Ana / Baptiste / Jetpack Cat / Lucio / Zenyatta
MEDIC: Healing allies with your weapon also heals you.
Kiriko / Lifeweaver / Mercy / Moira
SURVIVOR: Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration.
Brigitte / Illari / Juno / Mizuki / Wuyang
Maps:
Meta Event - Conquest:
A five-week long faction war will place players as either a member of Overwatch or Talon, and competing will grant the following rewards:
- 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
- Exclusive new Rare, Epic and Legendary titles (and a secret hidden one!)
Competitive Updates:
Season 1 will include Crimson Wolf competitive weapon skin, Diamond + Doomfist competitive skin, rarity based titles beginning in Season 2, and challenger tier integration with Facelt tournament invites.
UI Update:
New UI updates include a new 3D hero lobby, a new notificaiton hub, faster navigation, and revamped hero gallery, social panel, and global navigation.
Cosmetics & Mythics:
2026 includes:
- New faction‑themed skins
- Rainy Day + Valentine’s collections
- Lootbox refresh (adds last 6 seasons of regular shop skins)
- Season 1 Mythics:
- Season Launch: Mercy — Celestial Guardian, Juno — Star Shooter
- Mid‑season: Mei’s first Mythic
Hello Kitty & Friends Collaboration:
February 10-23:
- Juno – Hello Kitty
- Kiriko – Cinnamoroll
- Mercy – Pompompurin
- D.Va – My Melody
- Widowmaker – Kuromi
- Lucio - Keroppi
ESports
- OWCS season begins with Seoul Bootcamp; ends with World Finals in China
- Overwatch World Cup returns at BlizzCon
- Overwatch Esports Lootboxes
Future Updates:
These are just some of the updates coming to Overwatch over the next few seasons!
- Overwatch releases on Nintendo Switch 2 in Season 2
- Two New Core Maps
- 1 New Hero Every Season (Season 2 – 6)
- Post-Match Accolades
- Hero Reworks
- Some Mythic Skins
- Mythic Hero Skins: Soldier: 76, Ana, Illari, Mauga, and Genji
- Mythic Weapon Skins: Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn
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