Overwatch Season One revamp brings 10 new heroes and drops the '2'

Blizzard is launching a comprehensive revamp of its hero shooter, now simply titled Overwatch, with Season One beginning February 10, 2026. The update introduces five new heroes immediately, with five more planned throughout 2026, marking the most ambitious content drop in the game's history.

The rebrand drops the '2' from Overwatch 2's title and calls the upcoming season 'Season One' rather than Season 21, signalling Blizzard's intent to position this as a fresh start for the franchise.

Five heroes launch immediately, five more coming

Season One introduces five new heroes on launch day: DPS heroes Anran and Emre, tank Domina from the Vishkar Corporation, and support heroes Jetpack Cat and Mizuki. This is only the beginning—Blizzard plans to release one additional hero in each of the following five seasons, bringing the total to 10 new characters in 2026.

While the remaining five heroes remain mysterious, Blizzard has released silhouettes showing what appears to be a mech pilot similar to D.Va and an Omnic character. The rapid hero release schedule represents a significant acceleration from previous years.

Sub-roles system transforms hero gameplay

The most significant gameplay change comes through a new sub-role system that divides the three main roles into more specialised categories. Each sub-role grants unique passive abilities rather than the universal passives that previously applied to all tanks, damage, or support heroes.

Tank heroes now split into Bruisers (reduced critical damage, movement speed when low health), Initiators (healing while airborne), and Stalwarts (reduced knockbacks and slows). Damage heroes become Sharpshooters (critical hits reduce cooldowns), Flankers (enhanced health pack healing), Specialists (elimination reload bonuses), and Recon (wall vision on damaged low-health enemies).

Support heroes divide into Tacticians (excess ultimate charge carries over), Medics (healing others also heals you), and Survivors (movement abilities trigger health regeneration). The system aims to make each hero feel more distinct within their role.

New narrative arc and competitive changes

Season One kicks off Overwatch's first annual narrative arc, following Vendetta's confrontation with Doomfist for control of Talon. Unlike previous character-focused lore drops, this story will unfold over the entire year with periodic cinematics, comics, and in-game events that affect maps and character interactions.

Competitive mode receives a refresh with new rewards including red Crimson Wolf weapon variants, a Diamond+ Doomfist skin, challenger tier integration, and FaceIt tournament invites. The UI also gets a complete overhaul with a new 3D hero lobby and streamlined menus for faster navigation.

Sanrio collaboration brings Hello Kitty skins

The season's cosmetic highlight is a Sanrio collaboration featuring six heroes with themed skins: Juno as Hello Kitty, Kiriko as Cinnamoroll, Mercy as Pompompurin, D.Va as My Melody, Widowmaker as Kuromi, and Lucio as Keroppi.

Additional cosmetics include new Mythic skins for Mercy and Mei, with future seasons planned to bring Mythic options for Soldier: 76, Ana, Illari, Mauga, and Genji. Post-match accolades also return, now displaying full hero models with the skins worn during matches.

Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade confirmed

Blizzard confirmed that Overwatch will receive a Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade in Season 2, potentially improving the handheld experience significantly. The current Switch version has faced performance limitations that the new hardware should address.

This news follows broader gaming industry announcements about upcoming game releases and continues the trend of major publishers supporting Nintendo's new console.

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