Here are All the New Heroes Teased for Overwatch 2
One of the biggest announcements to have come from Blizzard Entertainment in recent times is the reveal that Overwatch 2 is in the process of being made. Granted, it is still very early in the process of being made, meaning that interested individuals shouldn’t expect to see it anytime soon. However, Blizzard Entertainment provided more than enough information to sate their sense of curiosity for the short term.
For instance, we know that in some ways, Overwatch 2 resembles an expansion more than a standard sequel. This is because Overwatch will continue to be updated with some of the same content as Overwatch 2 upon the latter’s release, thus making it that much easier for the Overwatch player base to stick with it rather than switch over should that be their personal preference. However, it would be a serious mistake to think that Overwatch 2 will be nothing but an expansion because we know that there is some substantial content that will be introduced in it. One example will be the new story mode. Something that should satisfy Overwatch players who have been wanting more focus on that side of things for some time, particularly if they have a taste for PVE versus PVP content. Another example will be the introduction of Push maps, which will essentially see participants fighting for control of a robot who is supposed to push the victory objective back and forth.
Can We Expect New Heroes From Overwatch 2?
Of course, what a lot of people are most interested in would be the prospect of new heroes for Overwatch 2. Unsurprisingly, the people responsible for making the upcoming title have confirmed that interested individuals can indeed expect a wide range of new heroes to play in not just Overwatch 2 but also Overwatch. Furthermore, each of these heroes will offer new concepts and thus new complexities, meaning that none of them will be a reskin of existing characters. Unfortunately, the fact that Overwatch 2 is still very far from being released means that we haven’t received a lot of information about new characters, though it should be noted that not a lot is not the same as none whatsoever.
Who Is Sojourn?
So far, the one new character to have been revealed for Overwatch 2 is Sojourn. She can be recognized by the fact that she is a Black Canadian woman with white hair worn in dreadlocks, which makes for a very striking image. Moreover, Sojourn has something of a militaristic look to her, thus inviting comparisons with Soldier 76.
Having said that, there is more to that particular comparison. This is because while Sojourn will be making her debut in Overwatch 2, she has shown up in previous Overwatch material. To be exact, she was on Winston’s list in the animated short “Recall,” which suggests that she isn’t a newcomer but rather someone who was working with Overwatch when it was still a sanctioned organization. However, we know very little about her other than this, meaning that it is still very much a matter of speculation what role she played in Overwatch, what her ties were with other Overwatch members, how she responded to the break-up of Overwatch, and how she has been occupying her time ever since. As such, there is still much that remains to be revealed about her.
Besides this, it should be mentioned that Sojourn is very relevant for some Overwatch players for another reason. In short, she is the first black woman to show up on Overwatch’s roster. Something that a fair number of people have been asking about for some time, seeing as how that was a major omission considering the team behind the franchise’s commitment to representational diversity. No doubt that there are those who think that Sojourn was added too late, but in any case, it is good that she is being added soon.
Who Is Echo?
Sojourn is the one new character to have received an official reveal. However, it is interesting to note that there are a lot of people who suspect that another character named Echo will be showing up sooner rather than later. Partly, this is because of official confirmation that there is enormous interest among the team for making her playable, and partly, she has been featured in both an animated short and a reveal trailer. Something that strongly supports the official claim that Echo will have an important role in the story of the franchise.
As for who Echo is supposed to be, we don’t have much information, but we do have some. In short, she is a robot who used to work with Overwatch. However, when Overwatch was broken up, she seems to have been deactivated at some point by someone, with the result that she has spent the intervening period unaware of what has happened. This can be seen by her appearance in the animated short in which McCree fended off the Deadlock Gang from the military freight train that she was being shipped on before reactivating her. Besides this, McCree made a statement about her being the one that Overwatch needed, which suggests that at the very least, McCree has a lot of faith in her capabilities.
Look-wise, Echo is very recognizable as a white robot with a holographic projection that serves as a face. This is interesting because the face is capable of showing a wide range of expressions, which is something that has been seen on other robots in the setting but has not been spotted on omnics. Out of setting, Echo is also interesting in that she was apparently once a character named Iris, who was one of the characters featured in the pitch meeting that led to the current Overwatch franchise. There are still clear similarities between the character that existed then and the character that exists now, but there are enough differences to mark them as very different-looking characters with what are presumably very different roles in the story.
Who Else Can We Expect?
These are just two characters, which is far from the number that Blizzard Entertainment representatives have promised for the upcoming title. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal of information about who the rest of those characters might be. Certainly, interested individuals can check out side materials for the franchise to see what side characters could make it in, but it wouldn’t exactly surprise anyone if a fair number of the new heroes will be 100 percent fresh faces to the franchise.
