[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's newest and surprisingly lengthy animated 'short' is all about Kiriko and what motivates her.
[Update]: Overwatch 2 has now unveiled its very first support hero - the wall-climbing, fox themed healer Kiriko. The Blizzard team has also taken this opportunity to detail Overwatch 2's Battle Pass, hero unlock system, as well as their plans for future updates.
As a part of a recent announcement, Blizzard revealed that Overwatch 2's PvP mode will be going free-to-play and will be decoupled from the story-focused campaign. The latter will release in pieces throughout 2023 (and potentially beyond), while the competitive side of Overwatch 2 will arrive on October 4th, 2022 for both PC and consoles.
For today's update, however, Blizzard have decided to unveil their plans for Overwatch 2's launch and some of the bigger updates you can expect to see. While certainly exciting, I'd recommend you temper your expectations as the amount of content coming with Overwatch 2 is far lower than what the original announcement might have you think. Without further ado, here's the brief rundown of what the future holds for Overwatch 2:
Season 1 (Launch)
• 3 new heroes (Sojourn, Junker Queen, and previously teased 'fox girl' support)
• 6 new maps
• New game mode (Push, which is essentially an evolution of the Escort game mode)
• 30+ new skins (likely to be released as a part of the freshly announced Battle Pass)
• New mythic skin that can be customized (likely to be the final reward in the Battle Pass)
Concept art for Genji's customizable mythic skin
Season 2 (December 6th, 2022)
• New Tank heroes
• New Map
• 30+ new skins
• New mythic skin
• New Battle Pass
Concept art for some of the Battle Pass rewards
Future Seasons (2023)
• New Heroes
• New Maps
• New Modes
• 100+ new skins
• PvE begins
Unsurprisingly, the exact details behind the PvE mode are still few and far between. That said, Blizzard has announced that their original vision of a story-focused campaign still stands, so here's to hoping the new co-op missions will be far more fleshed out than the simple (yet still entertaining) challenges we've seen throughout the original Overwatch.
Blizzard has also taken this opportunity to properly reveal the next tank hero - the hyper aggressive Junker Queen. What she has to offer, as well as what her story is even all about, that you can find out through two of the trailers below. Have a gander, they're good fun:
As a small thank you to veteran players, Blizzard will also be giving everyone who logs into Overwatch before June 23rd, 2022 the Overwatch 2 Founder’s Pack. This little bundle contains two epic skins and an 'exclusive' founder's icon, as well as a mystery gift that will be revealed closer to Overwatch 2's October 4th release date.
The final big thing worth mentioning is that Junker Queen will be playable as a part of the second closed beta test on June 28th, 2022. You can sign up for a chance at getting in, as well as learn more about Overwatch 2 in general, over at the official website. Good luck!