Okay so I’ve not had a chance to jump into Overwatch just yet since its major reboot and rebrand, but this is pretty exciting news. Via a press release, Blizzard announced that since the unveiling of Overwatch Season 1 and The Reign of Talon, the game has enjoyed its “biggest weekend by player count in over a year”.
It’s not a stretch to say that the Overwatch brand has languised over the past few years. Interest in the game surged when Overwatch 2 was originally unveiled with a PvE focus, but that got scrapped as we got closer to launch. Not only that, the sequel also introduced a bunch of unnecessary format and character changes that didn’t resonate with players, along with a Battle Pass system that has continued to be seen as contentious at best. As someone who used to be utterly obsessed with Overwatch, this was disappointing to see and I eventually fell off the game.
Blizzard’s rebranding of Overwatch, however, has me intrigued once again. They’re dropping the “2” from Overwatch 2, and kicking off a new season with five new heroes and a multi-season narrative that will unfold “across gameplay, a cinematic, animated Hero trailers, and more throughout 2026.” If this marks Blizzard’s refocus on PvE and world-building for the Overwatch brand, then I’m interested to see where it goes.
Overwatch Season 1 and The Reign of Talon begins today, and here’s what you can expect from the game:
- Five New Heroes at Launch: Jump in to experience five new heroes right now, with five more coming throughout 2026 (one per season).
- Domina (Tank), a long-range, zone-control Stalwart Tank hero and vice president of the Vishkar Corporation.
- Emre (Damage), a fast-paced, run-and-gun Specialist Damage hero with cybernetic upgrades.
- Mizuki (Support), a versatile Survivor Support hero aligned with the Hashimoto clan.
- Anran (Damage), a fire-wielding Flanker Damage hero, Overwatch recruit, and Wuyang’s older sister.
- Jetpack Cat (Support), a permanently flying feline, acting as a Tactician Support hero with quick reflexes and Hero towing abilities
- The Reign of Talon: For the first time, Overwatch is telling a fully connected narrative across an entire year, following Talon’s rise under new leadership. Follow along on this new story with our latest cinematic, as well as ongoing motion comics, animated Hero trailers, short stories, and more.
- Conquest Meta Event: Conquest is a five-week faction-based event where players align with Overwatch or Talon, completing missions and earning rewards along the way.
- Gameplay, Competitive, and Systems Updates: Season 1 includes new role sub-roles and passives for all Heroes, a competitive year reset with rewards and rarity titles, Stadium updates, a full UI/UX refresh, and new systems like Praise.
- The Overwatch x Hello Kitty and Friends collaboration is available now, introducing colorful, Hello Kitty and Friends-inspired skins plus themed extras like name cards, sprays, emotes, and more. Available now through February 24, the crossover introduces skins for…
- Juno as Hello Kitty
- Widowmaker as Kuromi
- Mercy as Pompompurrin
- Lucio as Keroppi
- D.Va as My Melody
- Kiriko as Cinnamoroll
- Skins and Cosmetics: Season 1 includes faction-themed skins, new themed bundles, a Mercy Celestial Guardian Mythic, Juno’s Star Shooter Mythic Weapon, and a Lootbox pool refresh including skins from the past six seasons.
- A comprehensive list of everything coming in Season 1 is available in the Spotlight blog post.
Overwatch is now available on PC and consoles.
