Overwatch 2 beta ends with a cryptic fox reference, hinting at the next hero

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Could it almost be Kanezaka fox girl’s time to shine?

Overwatch 2 fox spirit
(Image credit: Blizzard)

The second Overwatch 2 beta has ended with a cryptic hint toward the game’s next hero. 

As spotted by Dexterto, Blizzard has given Overwatch 2 beta players a hint towards the next hero expected to join the FPS in the near future. Twitter user @Hayzelet was one of the first to sound the alarm by sharing the cryptic message that was displayed at the end of the beta and decoding it from Base64 format.

The long seemingly nonsensical note actually translates to: "What does the fox say." Rather than being a simple reminder of the Ylvis song that had the internet in a chokehold back in 2013, fans think that this could be a reference to the Kanezaka fox girl that was briefly previewed during the Overwatch 2 segment of the Xbox and Bethesda showcase last month.

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In case you missed it, last month Blizzard introduced Overwatch fans to Junker Queen and revealed that Overwatch 2 is due to launch on October 4, 2022. Towards the end of the release date trailer, we got a very quick glimpse of a fox spirit that appears to be guiding heroes Genji, Hanzo, Ana, and Zarya through the Kanezaka map whilst emitting small cherry blossom-like petals before passing through a set of illusionary Torii gates. 

Blink and you’ll miss the little creature’s appearance but if you’re an Overwatch fan, the character probably stood out to you. The Kanezaka fox girl is closely associated with the Kanezaka map in Overwatch and according to official lore from Blizzard, the fox girl is thought to be linked to the daughter of Toshiro and Asa Yamagami of Kanezaka. 

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for the hero’s official reveal, especially since Blizzard has been subtly teasing them for a few weeks now. In other Overwatch 2 news, the development team at Blizzard recently revealed that Overwatch 2 will replace Overwatch at launch. 

Want to know more about Overwatch? Find out why the Overwatch 2 free-to-play model might be a mistake.

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.