Overwatch's next 5 heroes revealed — and they all drop at once

Overwatch is about to have its biggest year yet, with the addition of 10 new heroes in 2026. Five of those heroes will arrive all at once on Feb. 10, with the launch of season 1, an unprecedented content update that outdoes the launch of Overwatch 2 back in 2022. (And yes, the name of the game is now just Overwatch; Blizzard is dropping the 2 from its title as it plans for the next decade of its hero-based PvP shooter.)

The five new heroes of Overwatch comprise an entire team: one tank (Domina), two damage (Anran and Emre), and two support heroes (Jetpack Cat and Mizuki). All five of the new heroes have close connections to existing Overwatch heroes. Some, like Anran Ye, sister of Wuyang, and Emre Sarioglu, a former ally of Ana and Soldier: 76, have been teased in supplementary narrative materials, like comics and animated shorts.

Dropping multiple heroes at once is not the norm for the Overwatch team. Blizzard released three heroes — Junker Queen, Kiriko, and Sojourn — concurrently when it launched Overwatch 2, but the developer's typical cadence has been one hero every other nine-week season. But for the 10th anniversary of Overwatch, game director Aaron Keller said the team wanted to make a big splash. In addition to the five heroes launching simultaneously on Feb. 10, Overwatch players can expect one new hero each season for the next five seasons. By the end of 2026, Overwatch will boast 55 playable heroes on its roster. The game launched in 2016 with 21 heroes.

Keller, speaking at a press conference Polygon attended at Blizzard's headquarters in January, said the Overwatch team started planning 2026's major hero releases a little over a year ago.

"The strategy was to put something out there that would feel something like an expansion," Keller said. "This is a hero shooter, and I think the best way that you can drive excitement for our players [...] would be a bunch of new heroes. It's why people play this type of game is to learn more about these heroes, pick them up and continuously master them."

"We don't want players to think that we rushed through five heroes over the course of the past year just to try to get one whole team's worth of heroes out the door for season 1," Keller added, noting that the Overwatch team has gotten faster at developing new heroes for the game. "The team really did move mountains to do this, but we put the same time, attention, detail, polish level, play testing, and iteration into all of these heroes that we do for any hero that we put into the game."

Each of the five new heroes is aligned either with Overwatch or its rival Talon. The conflict between those two teams will play out in a story that spans the next year, across in-game events, cinematics and hero trailers, short stories and comics, and map updates.

Players will get their first taste of Overwatch's new heroes this week, with a playtest for Anran that runs in-game from Feb. 5-10. Here are the details on the five new heroes coming to Overwatch in season 1.

Domina

Tank (Talon-aligned)

Official description: "As Vishkar Corporation’s most prized negotiator, Domina uses her masterful command of hard-light to take control of every situation."

Tank players are going to love Domina, who can throw up a hard-light barrier to protect her team and comes armed with a beam weapon that can deliver deadly headshots. Domina's Barrier Array is quite different from similar shields used by Sigma, Rienhardt, or Orisa; each segment of the shield must be individually destroyed, creating dynamic defensive angles. During my hands-on time with Overwatch's new heroes, Domina... well, dominated matches, providing strong defense and laying waste to opponents with her beam weapon.

Weapon

• Photon Magnum — Medium-range beam that culminates in a high-impact shot.

Abilities

• Barrier Array — Construct a segmented barrier.
• Sonic Repulsors — Push enemies back, stunning them if they hit a wall.
• Crystal Charge — Project an explosive crystal and reactivate to detonate it.

Ultimate

• Panopticon — Fire a hard-light barrier that imprisons enemies and detonates on expiration.

Passive

• Reconstruction — Dealing damage with abilities restores shields.
• Role: Tank — Less ultimate given by healing and damage received. Increases base health in Role Queue game modes.
• Subrole: Stalwart — Reduces knockbacks and slows received.

Perks

Minor

• Efficient Design — After using Barrier Array, restore 50 shields and activate passive health regeneration.
• Extended Power — Increase the range of Photon Magnum by 20%.

Major

• Disruptive Detonation - Enemies hit by Crystal Charge’s explosion are slowed by 30% for 2 seconds.
• Power Move - Barrier Array can be used as a wall to stun enemies with Sonic Repulsors with a 100% damage increase.

Anran

Damage (Overwatch-aligned)

Official description: "The star graduate of Wuxing University’s Fire College, Anran is always burning to push her limits."

Anran is a high-mobility assassin who can set enemies on fire and amplify already-burning enemies. She might be your Genji main's favorite new character, but she's also unique among Overwatch heroes because she has two ultimates: one that deals devastating damage and burns her enemies, and another that brings her back to life if she's dead, rejoining the battlefield with a fiery explosion.

Weapon

• Zhuque Fans - Hand fans that shoot fiery projectiles.
• Fan the Flames - Hot wind blast that amplifies burning damage.

Abilities

• Inferno Rush - Propel yourself forward and damage enemies you impact.
• Dancing Blaze - Strike nearby enemies while dodging all damage.

Ultimate

• Vermillion Ascent - Charge forward, exploding on impact and instantly igniting enemies.
• Vermillion Revival - When dead, revive yourself in a fiery explosion.

Passive

• Ignition - Hit enemies with fire attacks to burn them.
• Subrole: Flanker - Health packs restore more health.

Perks

Minor

• Smolder - Ignited enemies burn 1.5 seconds longer.
• Heat Shield - Gain 50 over health when you use your Ultimate and for each enemy ignited by it.

Major

• Short Fuse - Impacting an enemy with Inferno Rush reduces its cooldown by 1.5 seconds.
• Hungering Blaze - Heal 50 health for each enemy hit by Dancing Blaze.

Emre

Damage (Talon-aligned)

Official description: "Emre disappeared after a lauded tenure on the Overwatch strike team. He has resurfaced years later, his body and mind manipulated by something unknown."

Emre is basically the Soldier: 76 of the new squad: an easy-to-pick-up hero with a fun, burst-fire pistol that can be a real threat to flying enemies like Pharah, Echo, Mercy, and Juno.

Weapon

• Synthetic Burst Rifle - Three-round burst weapon.
• Tale Aim - Hold to zoom in, tightening accuracy and increasing fall off range.

Abilities

• Siphon Blaster - Temporarily wield a semi-automatic pistol with lifestealing 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.

Passive

• Altered Vitals - Passive health regeneration activates sooner and instantly restores 30 health when activated.
• Subrole: Specialist - Eliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed.

Perks

Minor

• Suppressive Security - Override Protocol’s light rounds slow enemies by 30% for 1 second.
• Enhanced Agility - Siphon Blaster’s movement speed bonus is increased by 20% while not firing.

Major

• Heat Sink - Direct hits with Siphon Blaster refund heat and increase its duration by 0.1 seconds.
• Cyber Adhesion - Cyber Frag now sticks on contact, dealing 40 extra damage to stuck enemies.

Jetpack Cat

Support (Overwatch-aligned)

Official description: "A fearless feline pilot equipped with Brigitte’s latest jet-propulsion invention, Jetpack Cat brings adorable aerial support the battlefield."

Yes, Jetpack Cat is finally real. The cat named Fika is a stray brought in by Brigitte who might be secretly as smart as the other animals on the Overwatch roster. She's always in the air, but is most effective when close to her team. Jetpack Cat also has a new unique ability that lets her pick up and fly around a teammate, which could lead to some interesting plays with Cassidy's Dead Eye or Reinhardt's Earthshatter. Jetpack Cat can also pick up her opponents, when using her ultimate ability, letting you drop a member of the enemy team in unfavorable spots or off the map entirely.

Weapon

• Biotic Pawjectiles - Mid-range projectile spread that heals allies and damages enemies.

Abilities

• Frenetic Flight - Accelerate in your movement direction. Fuel recovery is slower while carrying another player.
• Lifeline - Toggle into transport mode, allowing an ally to be towed. Increases movement speed and heals your ally.
• Purr - Pulsing area heal that increases in frequency over time. Knockback nearby enemies when activated.

Ultimate

• Catnapped - Dive towards a ground location, knocking down enemies and tethering the nearest one to you.

Passive

• Jetpack - Permanent flight.
• Subrole: Tactician - You can gain excess ultimate charge which carries over after using your ultimate ability.

Perks

Minor

• Claws Out - Quick melee becomes empowered every 6 seconds, wounding enemies for 40 damage and slowing them by 30% for 1 second.
• Transport Shielding - Gain up to 75 extra shield health while carrying another hero.

Major

• Headbutt - Frenetic Flight can knockback an enemy on impact when flying fast enough.
• Territorial - Purr now also damages nearby enemies for 50% of the healing amount. Knockback is removed.

Mizuki

Support (Talon-aligned)

Official description: "Born under a shadow of misfortune, Mizuki will do anything it takes to break free of his curse and decide his own fate."

A member of the Hashimoto clan, Mizuki uses his hat like Captain America's shield, bouncing it off allies to heal multiple teammates in succession. He can also bind enemies in place (not unlike Junkrat's old, since-reworked Steel Trap) and bank his Spirit Glaive primary weapon off of walls. Mizuki was the most surprisingly fun of the five new heroes that I played.

Weapon

• Spirit Glaive - Throw a spinning blade that impacts enemies and rapidly deals damage.

Abilities

• Healing Kasa - Throw your hat to heal an ally, bouncing to nearby allies and healing you when it returns.
• Binding Chain - Launch a tethering chain that hinders the first enemy hit.
• Katashiro Return - Leap forward, leaving behind a paper doll. Reactivate to return and gain increased movement speed while active.

Ultimate

• Kekkai Sanctuary - Create a sanctuary that heals allies and absorbs enemy projectiles from outside the area.

Passive

• Remedy Aura - Heals nearby allies. Healing scales with resource generated by dealing damage and healing.
• Subrole: Survivor - Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration.

Perks

Minor

• Wellspring - Remedy Aura resource generation is increased by 25%.
• Exposed Soul - Hitting an enemy with Binding Chain increases your damage dealt to them by 30% for 2 seconds.

Major

• Resonant Return - Healing Kasa bounces one additional time. Each bounce increases its healing by 10.
• Quickstep - While Katashiro Return is active, allies within Remedy Aura gain 25% increased movement speed.

Overwatch's next 5 heroes

Blizzard teased five more heroes coming to Overwatch in 2026 over the course of seasons 2-6. While details on those heroes are practically non-existent, it certainly looks like we're getting another tank and a mix of damage and support heroes, based on artwork released by Blizzard.

That tank silhouette featured in that art certainly invokes D.Va's mech design — are we finally get another member of the MEKA Squad? — while at least one of the other heroes appears to be an Omnic, the robotic race that's severely underrepresented in the Overwatch roster. As for the others, one has design elements that imply a new sniper, while another has what appears to be a remote robotic dragonfly.

Overwatch players probably won't have to wait long to see those characters revealed, either in pre-season play tests or in cinematics, comics, and Easter eggs in maps.