Overwatch Drops the 2, Confirms 5 New Heroes for Next Week…

Overwatch is undergoing a major shake-up in 2026, dropping "2" from the title and reworking how seasons and narrative content will be approached going forward. Following the conclusion of Season 20, Overwatch will be committing to a brand-new storytelling method that sees a year-long narrative arc with each season adding to that year's narrative. As such, Overwatch is effectively resetting the seasonal count each year, with Season 1 kicking off the Reign of Talon arc.

As Overwatch approaches its 10th anniversary, it's not surprising to see Blizzard pull out all the stops to celebrate how far the game has come. To show just how monumental an event this narrative and seasonal structure shift is, Overwatch Reign of Talon will be releasing 10 new heroes over the course of the year, with 5 being playable at launch. Afterward, players can expect one new playable hero per season of Overwatch during the Reign of Talon arc throughout 2026.

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By Richard Warren

Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1 Launches February 10 with 5 New Heroes Being Added Day-One

The first full annual storyline, The Reign of Talon, is coming to Overwatch on February 10 as the first of 6 seasons planned for this narrative arc over the course of 2026. In the Overwatch Spotlight trailer, the balance of power within Talon has shifted as Vendetta usurps Doomfist's leadership of the organization. As a result, Talon has seen a global resurgence and has launched an attack on Overwatch at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, kicking off the events of the Reign of Talon storyline.

New Heroes Launching with Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1

Domina — Tank (Talon-aligned)
Emre — Damage (Talon-aligned)
Mizuki — Support (Talon-aligned)
Anran — Damage (Overwatch-aligned)
Jetpack Cat — Support (Overwatch-aligned)

Among the 5 new heroes launching with Reign of Talon Season 1 are 3 Talon-aligned characters and 2 Overwatch-aligned ones. The first is the new Tank Hero, Domina, who is the heiress and vice president of Vishkar Industries, who acts as a poke tank similar to Sigma. The long-rumored character Emre joins as a Damage Hero and a mobile soldier archetype with a conflicting personality resulting from his cybernetic modification. To round out the Talon-aligned heroes, Mizuki, a member of the Hashimoto Clan, joins the roster as a Support Hero.

On the Overwatch side of the coin, Wuyang's older sister, Anran, teams up with her brother to deliver fire-based attacks at close range. Perhaps the most surprising addition to the roster is Jetpack Cat, a long-teased hero that Brigitte has adopted into the Overwatch family.

Players can test out Anran during a Hero Trial that runs from February 5 until the new season starts on February 10.

Gameplay Updates Coming to Overwatch in Reign of Talon Season 1

In addition to the 5 new heroes slated to launch with Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1, there are a variety of technical features being updated, such as a complete UI refresh and an armory icon overhaul for Stadium. To further support Stadium's accessibility, Overwatch is also introducing the Hero Builder feature to recommend builds to players based on global player data. Vendetta will also be added to the roster of Stadium heroes as well.

Hero roles are also being updated across the board, with new sub-roles and passives based on their sub-roles. These new sub-roles include:

Tank
- Bruiser: Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed.
- Initiator: Staying airborne lightly heals you.
- Stalwart: Reduces knockbacks and slows received.
Damage
- Sharpshooter: Critical hits reduce your movement ability cooldowns.
- Flanker: Health packs restore more health.
- Specialist: Eliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed.
- Recon: You detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them.
Support
- Tactician: You can gain excess ultimate charge which carries over after using your ultimate ability.
- Medic: Healing allies with your weapon also heals you.
- Survivor: Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration.

Overwatch players will also get access to plenty of new cosmetics with the launch of Reign of Talon Season 1. The new Conquest Meta Event lets players choose to fight for Talon or fight for Overwatch in a PvP faction war that rewards participants with weekly rewards based on their faction's standing. Fans can also look forward to a variety of new cosmetics coming to the game, including a new Mythic skin for Mercy and new Mythic weapons for Juno and Mei, as well as Overwatch's Hello Kitty & Friends collaboration that features adorable Sanrio-themed skins for several heroes.