Summary
- A doodle of a sword-wielding knight seen in the Overwatch 2 Spotlight sparks speculation about hero 45.
- Recent hero reveals include Freya and Aqua, but hero 45 remains a mystery for Season 20 in 2025.
- Melee heroes like a potential gladiator character are speculated.
Overwatch 2 fans might have spotted a teaser for hero 45 in the recent Spotlight event in the form of a cartoonish, sword-wielding knight in the background. While this could ultimately amount to nothing, some Overwatch 2 players wonder if the third hero of 2025 will be a sword-wielding melee character – and possibly even one of the gladiators of Colosseo.
During the recent Spotlight event, Blizzard revealed the next two heroes coming to Overwatch 2: Freya, a complex damage hero from Season 16, and a support character codenamed Aqua scheduled for Season 18. Unfortunately, nothing was revealed for the 45th hero expected in Season 20 near the end of 2025.
Overwatch 2 Preview: Perks, Freja, and Stadium
At Blizzard, The Best War Games spends a couple of hours playing with Overwatch 2's new perk system, new hero Freja, and new mode Stadium.
However, some keen-eyed Overwatch 2 fans may have spotted a teaser for this hero hiding in plain sight during the Spotlight. While senior narrative designer Jude Stacey was introducing Freya, a doodle of a character in the exaggerated style used by Overwatch 2 for placeholder art can be seen on one of the viewscreens in the background. The character appears to be an angry knight with spiked armor, a massive ponytail, and a comically oversized sword.
Sword-Wielding Knight in Overwatch 2 Spotlight
While this information is not a lot to work on, players have already begun speculating as to who this might be. Some fans noticed the general silhouette of this character seems similar to that of Magnus, a sword-wielding gladiator whose statue is found in the center of the Hall of Champions on the Colosseo map. A scoreboard and advertisement can also be seen on the map referencing a rivalry between Maximus and Zephyrus – two remote-controlled gladiators who are in the middle of a grudge match inside the arena of the Colosseo. If Magnus were indeed to become a new hero, it is possible the character might be an autonomous battle bot as well. Season 16 is also introducing Gladius, a new map within the Colosseo arena, as a part of the Stadium game mode in Overwatch 2, so getting a hero from the city a few seasons later would be timely.
In his talks with content creator Frogger during the Spotlight event, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller confirmed that melee heroes are something the developers were “definitely looking at.” The first-person nature of Overwatch 2 makes melee heroes hard to design, but Keller said "we've got a route" around that particular dilemma – potentially by using the third-person viewpoint being tested in Stadium, or some similar technology.
It is important to note that nothing official has been confirmed about hero 45 yet, and previous potential Overwatch 2 character teasers, like that of Maximilien as hero 43, have been proven false. Even so, this Easter egg is bound to cause all kinds of speculation until the identity of hero 45 is officially revealed later this year.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 65%
WHERE TO PLAY
OVERWATCH®, A FUTURE WORTH FIGHTING FOR! Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future.
Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based hero shooter game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 or 6v6 battlefield brawl featuring new heroes and maps, different ways to play, and unique cosmetics! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch’s 40+ distinct heroes. Team up with friends, take them into battle across 25+ futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.
Reign of Talon - Season 1: Conquest
The Next Big Story Begins
The world shifts as 2026 begins a year-long narrative arc where Overwatch and Talon face off in the fight for the future, joined by five new Heroes at once. Step into the story and shape what comes next!
After ten years, Season 1 opens the first chapter of Overwatch's next big story, where your choices will put you right into the fight for the future!
For the first time, five new Heroes hit the roster together, bringing new playstyles, new dynamics, and new voices into the fray all at once. Jet Pack Cat, Anran, Domina, Emre, and Mizuki arrive just in time for Reign of Talon: Conquest, launching a year-long narrative where conflict takes center stage and you contribute to how it unfolds.
Choose where you stand as Overwatch and Talon collide in a faction-driven event with outcomes that will leave visible marks on the world and your legacy. Along the way, Competitive gets a refresh and Core gameplay evolves, changing how things feel across the board.
This season sets a fresh tone for how the Overwatch story is told and how you play it.
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Overwatch
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, FPS, MOBA, Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- How Long To Beat
- 35 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 85.1 GB
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
