Summary
- Sombra's original design closely resembles Overwatch 2's Kiriko, based on early concept art.
- Overwatch 2 teases a new tank hero that may be named "Phreak" with a possible November reveal.
One fan of Blizzard's popular hero shooter has pointed out one of Sombra's original design concepts that closely resembles that of Overwatch 2 launch hero Kiriko. It's all about Halloween right now in Overwatch 2, as its mythic witch Widowmaker-led Season 13, named Spellbinder, is underway. The annual Halloween Terror event is back as well, with a new mode called Junkenstein's Laboratory that lets players upgrade their hero abilities between rounds.
Sombra was only the second-ever new hero that was added to Overwatch, following Ana in 2016. The DPS hacker has undergone many tweaks and even full-blown reworks over the years, as the hero's ability to become invisible has been quite controversial among the Overwatch community. Overwatch 2 introduced Kiriko as one of its three launch heroes. The Japanese support hero who grew up with Genji and Hanzo wields deadly kunai, and she's perhaps the most popular support hero in the game next to Mercy. Some fans feel Kiriko has been getting too many skins recently, causing other Overwatch 2 heroes like Venture to miss out.
Sombra and Kiriko have a lot more in common than it would initially seem. One fan on Reddit, named TheUndreaming, noticed that in the Art of Overwatch book, one of Sombra's early concept designs is strikingly similar to the design the Overwatch team went with for Kiriko six years later. This concept design has Sombra donning a similar hairstyle to Kiriko's, black pants with red accents, and big red shoes. Taking the connection a step further, the Sombra design puts kunai in her hands, indicating that Sombra's Overwatch playstyle was initially meant to be more like Kiriko's.
Early Sombra Design Looks Similar To Kiriko's
It's clear that unused Overwatch hero designs have gone on to inspire the looks of future heroes. There were even interesting overlaps in Overwatch's original roster, such as Hanzo and Genji originally being one hero. It would be cool to see this unused Sombra design become a skin for the hero at some point down the line. If it were to happen, it would need to be adjusted to fit her silhouette and to avoid looking too similar to Kiriko's default skin. Such a skin would make for an interesting Mirrorwatch hero crossover if the event ever returns to Overwatch 2 in the future.
Currently, the Overwatch 2 community is buzzing with speculation about the game's next new hero, who was teased at the end of the Season 13 trailer. Believed to be a tank, the hero seems to be some sort of revolutionist that goes by "Phreak," as was graffiti tagged on a wall during his brief tease. A concrete reveal of this new hero should be happening at some point in November. Perhaps their design has also been inspired by unused hero concepts from Overwatch's past.
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Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
