Overwatch 2 Teases First New Hero of 2026

Overwatch 2 just lately launched a brief story video that closely steered Anran could be coming to the sport quickly, and leaked final voice strains would possibly all however verify she is. Whereas there has not been any official phrase as to what heroes are coming to Overwatch 2 subsequent, there may be an especially excessive probability Anran might be amongst them.

For many of Overwatch 2’s life, three new heroes have been added to the hero shooter annually. In 2025, these characters included Freja, Wuyang, and Vendetta, the latter of which had only just arrived in Overwatch 2 Season 20. As of proper now, the brand new heroes for 2026 are shrouded in thriller, however gamers can assume there might be three extra, arriving in Seasons 22, 24, and 26.

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Overwatch 2 Hero 46 Is In all probability Anran Ye

Nonetheless, Overwatch 2 may need simply teased who Season 22’s Hero 46 goes to be. “The Invitation” is a brand new quick story narrated by Winston voice actor Crispin Freeman that Overwatch 2 just lately launched. The video is centered on his determination to ship invites to promising candidates for Overwatch – particularly Wuyang and Anran Ye, two members of Wuxing College in China. The previous is an aquatic support hero released during Overwatch 2 Season 18, whereas the latter is his fiery elder sister, who seems in his backstory and cinematic trailer, the place she was additionally invited to affix Overwatch alongside her brother. Whereas each seem within the new artwork revealed in “The Invitation,” the digital camera focuses extra on Anran than Wuyang, which instantly caught the attention of followers, who believed it could be a teaser for the character’s debut as a playable hero.

Not lengthy after, a leak all however confirmed these suspicions had been nearly definitely based. Following ideas from Portaloverwatch, OverFire found new voice strains within the sport from Echo in Overwatch 2 during which she says “Scorch the sky!” in English and “Flaming feathers scorch the sky!” in Chinese language, sharing them on Twitter. What’s extra, these voice strains seem in a number of totally different localizations already, implying Anran could be decently far alongside in growth.

That is removed from the one teaser gamers have gotten for Anran in Overwatch 2 as properly. Past the truth that she was straight invited to affix the group in Wuyang’s cinematic trailer, “Elemental Kin,” she is also seen in an official submit shared final Christmas, during which Anran is the one character current within the artwork that isn’t at present playable.

It is very important word that this doesn’t technically imply Anran is coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 22, and even later in 2026. It’s doable this proof was misinterpreted, or that Anran may arrive a lot later. Nonetheless, with a lot mounting proof, it might be extra stunning if Anran weren’t added to the roster quickly than it will be if she had been.

What Different Heroes Would possibly Come to Overwatch 2 in 2026?

As for the opposite heroes gamers would possibly see, there are lots of totally different choices which were teased these days. Former Overwatch operative Emre Sarioglu briefly appeared in Freja’s cinematic trailer and backstory comedian, and Omnic Talon govt Maximilien has been showing a suspiciously massive variety of instances since late 2024. Moreover, a latest Easter egg on Busan suggests new exercise from MEKA Squad, which may suggest that one in every of D.Va’s allies could finally join her in Overwatch 2.

Both means, Overwatch 2 followers received’t have to attend lengthy to search out out. A latest Weekly Recall weblog implied Overwatch 2 has a packed schedule early this year, which means avid gamers can count on to see some huge information very quickly. There are additionally 4 extra empty slots in Overwatch 2’s in-game Story characteristic after “The Invitation,” so there’ll seemingly be extra quick tales, cinematics, or comics for gamers to take pleasure in within the close to future.