Blizzard pumps the breaks on eating Marvel Rivals' lunch with attractive Overwatch 2 heroes, says the team still "loves oddballs" like Bastion and Winston
"Heroes like Winston and Bastion are really important to our universe. They're what makes Overwatch Overwatch."
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Overwatch 2's newest hero is Wuyang, a science-based water bender who looks like the most aggressive support character the evergreen shooter has seen in years. He's also pretty hot, continuing a recent Overwatch trend that's seen conventionally attractive skin-sellers like Juno and Kiriko and Lifeweaver come to the game back-to-back, though the team's apparently still committed to the oddballs, too.
Lead hero designer Alec Dawson responded to some online misreporting in a new livestream, explaining that the "roster is comprised of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities." The latter isn't going anywhere, either. "Heroes like Winston and Bastion are really important to our universe. They're what makes Overwatch Overwatch. They're the special sauce that makes our universe unique."
Dawson also teased that there's at least one "oddity" in development. "We're not gonna be talking about that today, but stay tuned in the coming months, and I cannot wait to talk about some of those heroes coming up," he added.
"Y'all I promise you the team loves oddballs and oddities," senior designer Dylan Snyder chimed in via a tweet. "Trust."
In another recent group interview with press, esports.gg reports that lead character designer Daryl Tan also sounded similarly excited about adding more characters made with the same sauce as the robo monk or the genius hamster who pilots a rolling, weaponized ball.
"In terms of maybe doing more - I'm going to personally describe this like maybe oddball characters like Wrecking Ball - we do still want to tackle these heroes for sure, and we'll sprinkle them in," Tan promised. "I can't say too much more about that, but I think there's exciting stuff coming down the road."
Hero producer Kenny Hudson simply explained that adding in more off-the-wall heroes with unconventional silhouettes, like Ramattra, is hard because "how do you translate those kinds of rigs and models to interact with the abilities and the way that you're trying to portray them? And yeah, it's something that we're working on."
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
So, there we have it - freaks do still have a place in the freaky universe, even if Kiriko and Mercy and the like soak up most of the cosmetics in the game.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.


